Ranma Unplugged
by lonewolfno1
Summary: Humanity needs more soldiers against the machines. Not just any soldiers, but ones who can do amazing things inside the Matrix. Morpheus is fortunate to find a young man that fits that description. He is Ranma and he is about to learn the truth. Matri
1. Welcome To The Real World

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Ranma or the Matrix. They belong to other people. I admit I did make up Captain Patch and his ship the _Argos._ At least, I'm pretty sure that I did. Maybe it was just those itty bitty voices in my head. Anyway I work for the US Navy, I have a wife and two kids. What I'm basically trying to say is that I am broke all the time. Don't bother suing. It would do no good.

RANMA UNPLUGGED

Chaper One: Welcome To The Real World

_Ring, Ring_

Unidentified Signal Detected. Trace Initiated

"It's me. I have news."

Voice Ident: Perp008936 NEO

"This could be traced."

Voice Ident: Perp 006253 MORPHEUS

"That's not a problem."

Trace Program Error. Diagnostic Cycle Starting

"Are you saying you found him already?"

"Believe me, it wasn't difficult."

"Link noted an explosion in the area. Did you encounter Agents?"

"No, it involved the target."

"What do you mean?"

"There was an incident involving him and a girl who is his fiancé."

"Is he safe?"

"Yeah, but he's going to have one hell of a headache from that mallet of hers."

"Mallet?"

Diagnostic completed. No Faults Found. Resuming Trace Program.

"Yeah, I'll explain when I get back. I think we may have two potentials now."

"Okay, Link says the nearest exit is a payphone outside a place called Nekohanten."

"Got it; I'm on my way."

_Click_

Signal Aborted. Trace Incomplete. Content Filed For Further Investigation.

* * *

An hour later, the crew of the _Nebuchanezzar_ was gathered around the table in their mess hall while Neo told the rest of them what he had seen while inside the Matrix. The looks he received at the end of his tale were of shock and unbelieving. Not that he could blame them. He barely believed it himself. 

"You're saying she pulled a material object out of thin air?" Morpheus asked.

"Yeah, one minute she was running at him with her hands over her head and the next minute, WHAM! He was plastered to the wall after the mallet hit him. It didn't look like it did anything more than knock him out," Neo replied, taking a sip from his water cup.

"And you think we should pull her out as well," Link said.

Trinity answered for Neo. "I don't think we have much of a choice. God knows I could have used that ability quite a few times myself. Besides, wouldn't pulling both of them out at the same time help them to make the transition, seeing as how they are engaged and all? They could lean on each other for support."

Link laughed. "I don't know. I mean how good can the relationship be if she clobbers him with a mallet she pulls out of thin air?"

"She does seem to have a problem with her temper, but I think a good amount of training in the construct will be most helpful," Neo remarked, smiling at Trinity.

"And just what is that look for?" Trinity asked. "You don't think I have a problem with my temper, do you?"

"Well, Tank did say something about you tearing apart the Lady in the Red Dress back when I first was pulled out."

The look Trinity gave him made Neo think about looking to see if his old room onboard was still habitable. Morpheus brought them both back to the issue at hand.

"Very well, then. If were going to get them both then we will need help from the _Argos_ in case their modules aren't together. No matter what they will both be assigned to and trained here. Link, contact the _Argos _and tell Captain Patch that we will require his assistance. Well handle the extractions from the inside ourselves so he doesn't have to risk his crew within the Matrix itself."

"I think we should set up a third extraction chair and trace pill, just in case," Link suggested. "After all we've never done a double before and it would be better to have a back up."

"Agreed. If that's all then let's get everything set up. We also need to arrange a meet with those two." With that, the meeting ended and everyone got to work.

* * *

Ranma Saotome awoke with a headache and was quite surprised. Not so much that he had woken up or had a headache. That was pretty average for him. What surprised him was the fact that he had woken up in his room at the Tendo Dojo. He took a quick look around to be sure that he really was where it appeared he was. That's when he got his second surprise. Sitting in the corner of his room was the person who had caused his headache in the first place. From the look of it, Akane seemed to have been asleep for sometime. 

Sitting up, Ranma rubbed the back of his head and replayed the events of the day in his mind. He remembered leaving the school after the last bell and running over to Ukyos for a free okonomiyaki. Just when he was about to take his first bite, the door slammed open to reveal a fuming Akane. Before Ranma could say anything, she had knocked him unconscious with that magically appearing mallet of hers. The next thing he remembered was waking up in his room.

"But that would mean . . . Nah. she couldn't have done that. There's no way that Tomboy would have done that," thought Ranma. His eyes fell on the package at Akanes knees. He realized it was a bento box. Suddenly, Ranma vaguely remembered that Akane had been holding it when she stormed into Ukyos.

"Ranma, theres someone here to see you," Nabikis voice yelled from downstairs. Slowly, Ranma got up, careful not to do so too fast after having been clobbered in the head. Before he left, Ranma took his blanket and wrapped it gently around Akane's still sleeping form. He then quietly walked out of his room and down the stairs.

"Ranma Saotome?" the man at the door asked.

"Yeah, thats me," Ranma replied.

"I have a delivery for you." The courier handed him a small package. Ranma signed for it and thanked the courier, who then took his leave despite the tea Kasumi was offering him.

Ranma looked over the package. He found a note attached and, opening it, saw that it merely said to open the package only when he was alone. This made Ranma immediately suspicious, especially since there was no return address on the small box.

"That's weird," came Nabiki's voice from behind him. Ranma jumped in shock and took a minute to catch his breath. "Who is it from?"

"I don't know," Ranma replied. "There's no return address on the package. It has to be from somewhere close by though. There isn't much postage and the stamp is from Tokyo."

Nabiki eyed the parcel suspiciously. "Maybe it's from Shampoo or Cologne. It has been a while since they tried something to trick you into complying with that marriage law of theirs. There's also Kodachi and her poisons."

"Well, I'll never know if I don't open it. I think I'll go to the dojo. There's less to damage there and no chance of anyone else getting hurt in case it is dangerous."

Ranma walked out to the dojo and closed the doors behind him. He moved to the center of the floor and sat down cross legged with the package in front of him. Cautiously he sniffed the package and, after not passing out or being unable to move, decided that there were no poisons in it. Carefully he tore into the brown paper and opened the small box inside. Ranma tilted it down and caught a small cell phone that had tumbled out. He eyed it closely and then nearly dropped it when it suddenly rang in his hand.

"Hello," Ranma answered.

"Satisfied that the phone is safe?" The voice on the other end asked him.

This caused Ranma to blink. He quickly looked around the dojo, but found that he was still alone in the room. He returned the phone to his ear.

"Who is this?" he asked, a touch of rage in his voice.

"I don't have a lot of time. This is probably being traced. We need to meet. I have information for you that I believe you will find to be of extreme interest given your present situation. There is an old warehouse about five blocks from where you are now. Meet me there in an hour."

"WAIT, WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT!" Ranma yelled into the phone.

"Oh and bring your fiancé with you. She needs to hear this, too. She should be waking up now."

With that, the line went dead on the other end. Ranma stared at the phone before deciding what he was going to do. While the arrival of the phone had been weird and the phone conversation even weirder, he reasoned he had no choice but to investigate further. The caller had talked about his present situation and the only thing Ranma could think that meant was his curse. It sounded like the person was offering him a cure. Ranma thought about that. He had grown used to his curse. Sure it was an inconvenience to him, but he didn't hate it anymore. At least not like he used to. It had even helped him out of a few trouble spots at times. Still if there was a chance at a cure, he had to go, if not for himself then for everyone else he knew that had a curse.

But why did they want Akane there? Maybe it was going to be something painful or difficult and they thought it would be good to have her there for support. Not that she ever gave him much but the other person did know she was his fiancée so he probably just reasoned that it was natural for her to be there for him. Ranma laughed. Weren't they in for a surprise.

Finally Ranma made his decision. He got up and, pocketing the phone, walked out of the dojo and into the house. When he got to his room, he noticed that the doors were still closed. Not wanting to get Akane upset by just barging in, Ranma knocked gently. When he didn't hear anything, he opened the door slowly. Akane was still asleep in the corner, though it did look like she was beginning to wake up. By the time Ranma got to her she was fully alert.

"Hey, Akane, I need to talk to you for a minute."

The rage that had been building in Akane for finding herself in Ranmas room subsided when she noted the nervous look on his face. She calmed herself down and decided to hear what he had to say. She nodded at him to continue as he sat down in front of her. Fifteen minutes later a curious Ranma and Akane were heading for the abandoned warehouse.

* * *

"They're on their way to you now, sir." 

"Okay, Link, stand by to find their locations when they wake up," Morpheus replied.

"You sound pretty sure that they'll take the red pill. I know you can't believe it will be that easy to convince them."

"I know it won't but I also know that we need to get them out. They have skills we desperately need. Is the _Argos_ ready for the extraction?"

"Yes, sir. They're standing by."

"Very well. I'll call when were ready."

Morpheus killed the line and went back to inspecting the chairs.

* * *

Neo saw them coming up the street and was instantly on guard. Instead of the young man and woman he was expecting, there came two women. One he recognized as Ranmas fiancé. The other was a young buxom redhead that looked vaguely familiar. She looked like she had encountered a freak rain storm as she was wringing some excess water out of her shirt. It also seemed strange that Ranmas fiancé was holding onto her arm. He stopped them at the door to the warehouse. 

"Can I help you two with something?" he asked the redhead.

"You tell us." Ranma-chan replied. "You're the one who sent me the phone and arranged this meeting, aren't you?"

Neo was taken aback at her answer. He looked closely at the redhead and then it dawned on him. "Ranma Saotome?"

"Yeah, that's right. You seemed surprised."

"Well the last time I checked on you, you were a guy." Neo looked beyond Ranma to Akane. "You are a girl, right?"

Akane instantly fumed. "Of course I'm a girl," she yelled. "I'm not the one with the curse." She stopped and regarded Neo's face. It was one of puzzlement. "Wait a minute. You mean you didn't know about Ranmaa curse?"

Neo shook his head. "We are interested in Ranma for his fighting abilities and you for your little mallet trick. I didn't know anything about a curse although it would explain our man's reports about you being highly unusual."

"Well if you didn't know about my curse, then you didn't call me hear to talk about a cure. What is this all about?" Ranma was getting increasingly frustrated when Neo's last words hit him. "What do you mean 'your man'?"

Neo regarded them before answering. "It's not my place to explain. That will be done inside. Uh, is there anyway for you to change back before we go in. It would make things go smoother."

Akane pulled a thermos from behind her back. She opened it and poured the steaming contents over her fiancé's head, returning him to his male form. Satisfied, Akane threw the canister away. She had a feeling she wouldnt need it any longer.

"Glad I thought ahead?" she asked a now male Ranma.

Ranma nodded. "Does that old lady water all the sidewalks in Nerima or what?"

Seeing that they were as ready as they would ever be, Neo gestured for them to proceed inside. They followed him up to the eighth floor and through a door into the next room. Inside they found a tall black man wearing a formal black suit and sunglasses that seemed to be clipped to his nose. He bowed to them in greeting which Ranma and Akane returnedout of habit. He motioned for them to sit in two chairs in the middle of the room while he sat in the one facing them.

"Hello, Ranma and Akane. My name is Morpheus. I expect you have many questions. First let me ask you one. Have you ever had that feeling that there was something not quite right with the world you live in? That it seemed like a dream you can't wake up from?"

Ranma and Akane looked at each other and sighed. Finally Ranma spoke.

"You haven't been watching me for a long time, have you? Just about everything that goes on in my life doesn't feel right. I have three fiancés, none by my choice, my dad changes into a panda, I change into a girl, and every week it seems that somebody new comes around looking to either kill me or marry me. Now what about any of that seems right to you?"

This apparently was all news to Morpheus as he had the most surprised expression on his face. He looked to Neo who merely shrugged and shook his head. Morpheus turned back to the young couple.

"It seems our operative's report was not as specific as it should have been. Be that as it may, that wasn't exactly what I meant. I usually wait until after a person is unplugged to tell them this much. What if I told you that the world you think you live in wasnt real? What if I told you it was all a dream and I could give you the chance to wake from this dream? Would you take the chance?"

Morpheus gauged their reaction. Surprisingly, he didn't see the disbelief he usually got. Instead it looked as if Ranma and Akane were contemplating what they had heard and were trying to make up their minds as if he had asked if they wanted tea or coffee to go with breakfast.

Ranma and Akane looked at each other after a few minutes and nodded. They didn't fully believe all that they had just been told but it did seemed to make sense given how chaotic their lives were. Finally they both looked at Morpheus. Akane spoke first.

"If this place isn't real, then I dont think it makes any sense for us to stay here. There is one thing I'd like to know. Is the real world any better?"

Morpheus sighed. He hated this question. "I really can't tell you yes or no. That will be for you to decide. However, I will say this. If we are successful in getting both of you out of this place, I promise you will be allowed to stay together."

Hearing this, Ranmas pulse quickened though he kept his outward appearance neutral. Unknown to him, Akane was also doing the same thing. He looked at Akane, who nodded to him. Ranma sighed.

"I guess were in. What do we have to do?"

Morpheus pulled two containers from his jacket pocket and opened them. Inside each was one red pill and one blue one. He held these out to Ranma and Akane. "An important step in this is the fact that you must openly and voluntarily decide to do this. If you take the blue pill, you go back to sleep and, when you awaken, you will remember none of this and be able to continue to live out the rest of your lives in this place. Take the red pill and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Whichever you choose, know this. There is no turning back once you have taken either one."

Ranma and Akane paused for only a moment before they both took the red pill and swallowed them down. They were then led by Neo and Morpheus into the next room where they found three barber-like chairs arrayed around a computer terminal. Behind the terminal was a young woman clad in skin tight leather from the neck down. She seemed to be inputting some final commands into the terminal. She looked up to Morpheus and nodded.

"We are ready then? Good. Ranma if you would sit back in this chair and Akane in this one." He helped Akane into her chair and put some pads connected to wires on Akanes head. Akane turned to see that Neo had done the same to Ranma. "The pills you took are part of a trace program that will allow us to locate your modules and get you after you wake up."

Akane started looking nervous. "This isn't going to hurt, is it?" She asked, a tremble in her voice. She looked to Ranma who surprised her by offering his hand. She surprised him even more by taking it.

Neo was about to answer her when the door to the room suddenly slammed open.

"Great, now where am I?" Ryoga asked. He looked around the room and saw Akane seated in her chair hooked up to a monitor and, even worse, holding Ranmas hand. "Akane, what are you doing?"

Neo moved between Ryoga and the others while Morpheus frantically dialed a number in his cell phone.

"Operator."

"Link, you're supposed to be keeping a look out. How the hell did this guy get here?"

"I don't know, sir," Link replied. "One minute the room was empty save for all of you and the next he was there. It was almost as if he came in from another part of the system."

"That's impossible. Nobody has that much control, not even Neo."

"I just call them as I see them, sir."

"Fine, Link. Signal the _Argos_ to stand by for the extraction."

Morpheus ended the call and told everyone what Link had told him. Only Ranma and Akane didn't seem surprised by this. Finally Neo spoke up.

"If he can do this, he doesn't seem to be aware of it. If he could get control of this ability, there's no limit to what he could do for us."

Morpheus nodded. "I guess it's a good thing we have the extra equipment plus the _Argos_. Now all we have to do is convince him to go."

Ranma, who had overheard all this smiled and spoke up. "That's no problem. Watch this." He turned to Ryoga and yelled to him. "Hey, Ryoga, Akane and I are going on a training journey. You wanna join us?"

During all this Ryoga had been scratching his head and trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. To him it had seemed as if he had stepped into some cheesy horror movie where mad scientists were doing experiments on people he knew. He finally registered the last words that Ranma had said. He looked at Akane, she nodded uneasily. That made his decision.

"Wherever Akane goes, I go. What do I have to do?"

Morpheus came up to him and guided him to the last chair. Trinity handed the last pill container to Morpheus, who opened this in front of Ryoga. "If you want to go with them, then you take the red pill. If you don't then you..."

Morpheus didn't get the chance to finish as Ryoga grabbed the red pill and immediately swallowed it. With that Neo helped him into the last chair and hooked the monitors to him. Morpheus had meanwhile pulled out his phone once more.

"Operator."

"Link, a change in plans. There will be three people coming out."

"Understood, sir. I hope this works."

"So do I. Have you found them yet?"

"I just got a lock on the first two. Damn, we lucked out. Their pods are right next to each other. Ten seconds to extraction."

Morpheus looked at Trinity and counted down. At zero, he signaled her and she hit a final button on the console. Ranma and Akane jolted in their seats and immediately saw all black.

* * *

Ranma awoke once again with headache. His eyes burned and he immediately shut them. After a few minutes, he slowly opened them again. He looked around and was shocked to find he was not in his room. Finally Ranma focused on the nearest body to him. It was Morpheus. 

Morpheus leaned over Ranma. "Welcome to the real world." This was the last thing Ranma heard before he passed out again.

* * *

When Ranma woke up again, he found himself in a cramped, dark room surrounded by metal walls and pipes. He sat up slowly and was immediately racked with pain, forcing him to lie down again. He wondered if this were all a dream. To convince himself, he slowly moved his hand to his face and pinched his cheek. The pain he felt did two things: yell out and decide that this was definitely not a dream. He tried sitting up again and, though it still ached, he was able to hold himself up. He looked over his body. 

The first thing Ranma noticed was that his muscles seemed to be less developed as if he had never been training in his Art for the twelve years he remembered doing so. His flesh was pock marked by what looked like circular electronic plugs. That's when he felt the main source of his pain and reached his hand to the back of his neck. There he found a huge plug with a large hole in the center. He also found that his pigtail, or for that matter his hair as a whole, was gone, cut down to near nothing. It was just like the haircut that wacky school principle had tried to give him ever since he had returned to the school from that Hawaii place.

Ranma searched his mind to try and piece together what had happened to him. He vaguely remembered that Morpheus guy welcoming him to the real world. Before that he had suddenly woken up to find himself inside a vat of red goo with all kinds of wires plugged into him. He recalled some machine like out of a bad Sci-fi movie looking him over then grabbing his neck. Next came the pain of the cables detaching themselves from him and then of the main interface unscrewing from the back of his neck. There was a sensation of falling into some kind of lake and then being picked up by a claw like he had seen at some of the arcades back in town. The only thing he could remember prior to all this was him and Akane sitting in their chairs back in the warehouse.

That made Ranma look frantically around. AKANE! Where was she? He tried to stand up to go looking for her and felt his legs give out. He began to fall forward and was immediately caught by a pair of hands.

Neo had just come into the room when he saw Ranma pitching forward under his own weight. He barely moved in time to catch him, dropping the tray of food he had brought to him.

"Whoa, take it easy. You don't want to move around too fast just yet. Your body still needs some time to gather its strength. After all, you haven't used your muscles in almost 17 years." Neo gently eased Ranma back onto his bed. He then sat down in a chair that was nearby. He looked Ranma over and wondered if he had really looked the same back when he had been pulled from the Matrix. Neo couldn't remember too much about that time either. Like Ranma, all he could recall about it were bits and pieces.

Ranma settled himself in a reclining position and rested his head on his knees. Looking over to Neo, he spoke only one word.

"Akane?"

Neo smiled. "She's just fine, though like you she is feeling a little weak and disoriented. Trinity is with her now, I imagine. We really lucked out. Your modules were right next to each other, so you both came out in the same place. We grabbed her right after we pulled you in."

Ranma looked around at his surroundings. "Where are we?" He asked.

"You're on a hover ship called the _Nebuchanezzar_. Morpheus is captain of the ship. My name is Neo, by the way."

"Morpheus? Neo? Trinity? What kind of names are those? Your parents must have had a warped sense of humor," Ranma laughed.

Neo laughed as well. "It's good to see you didn't lose your sense of humor. Actually I was known as Thomas Anderson back when I was still a part of the system. Neo was my hacker alias. I was pretty good, too. That's why they pulled me out, among other reasons." No sense giving him too much to absorb at once, Neo thought.

Ranmas eyes widened suddenly. "Hey, I remember now. Nabiki said something about you hacking the Japanese Nikon market one time. She was quite impressed. The fact that you made her a couple thousand yen didn't hurt either."

Now it was Neo's turn to be surprised. "That must have been that 'Nabs' person who sent me the email after that congratulating me. Never did find out who she really was. They pulled me out a couple weeks later."

Ranma suddenly had a cold thought. "Neo, what about my family and friends back home? Will I ever get to see them again?"

Neo sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. For all intents and purposes you, Akane, and Ryoga are dead in that world. I'm afraid it's just too dangerous to see them again, both for you and them."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.

"That will be explained later," Neo replied. "For now, try to get some rest. You're going to need it for your training tomorrow." With that Neo got up and opened the door. Before he could leave, Ranma called out to him.

"You mentioned Ryoga. Did he make it here ok, too?"

"His pod was in another area of the system, so another ship made the pick up. We're heading to a rendezvous point to pick him up now. Dont worry they've been healing his body just like we have been doing to yours. I know you feel really weak compared to how you were in the Matrix. Your muscles have atrophied since you haven't been using them all your life. We've done what we can using acupuncture and electroshock therapy. The rest you will just have to do on your own the old fashioned way. Get some sleep for now. Like I said, you're going to need it."

Neo walked out and closed the door behind him. Just minutes after he left, Ranma was once again fast asleep. He found himself dreaming of Akane.

* * *

Neo headed up to the ship's bridge. On the way, he met up with Trinity who was heading in the same direction. 

"How is Akane doing?" he asked.

"Resting right now. She wanted to see Ranma right away, but I didn't think it was a good idea seeing as how I didnt know what his condition was. It wasn't easy but I finally calmed her down."

"Is it always like this? This is the first time I've helped to unplug someone."

"I'll tell you this. It never gets any easier. Even with the children because they're so dependant on their parents. Its tough to just forget everything you were and knew."

"They left behind a lot of people. Do you think they will be able to fully let go?"

"Well, they have each other, at least. That's a start. Well be meeting up with the _Argos_ soon to pick up their friend. That should help as well especially with all the training."

They soon found themselves on the bridge. Link and Morpheus were already there waiting for them.They came to the forward window and scanned the landscape looking for a sign of the other hovership.

"We're still a little early," Morpheus said, settling back into his pilot's chair. "They aren't supposed to be here for another ten minutes or so." He pulled his black knit cap onto his head and closed his eyes. "So how are our newest members doing?"

"Sleeping at the moment, though they are quite anxious to see each other again," Neo replied. He was still looking out the window for the _Argos_. Trinity came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. Neo grinned. "Hey, Morpheus, do we have another room with a double bed. I have a feeling they are going to want it."

Morpheus just chuckled. "We'll see how things go, but I think we can arrange something."

"Got something coming up on the scopes," Link said. He adjusted a few dials on the holographic projector in front of them. Slowly, but a little more clearly with each second, another ship appeared that looked like the _Nebuchanezzar_. "We should see them in a second."

As soon as he said this, the other ship appeared on the horizon. It approached slowly and cautiously before finally touching down just in front of Morpheus' ship. Trinity, Neo, and Morpheus went aft to the airlock, grabbing their pulse weapons on the way. You could never be too careful. A sentinel just might wander by. Outside, they made their way to the hatch that was opening on the other ship. A tall, muscular man with graying hair and a goatee approached Morpheus. He looked a little worse for wear sporting a bandage on his nose and a black eye. Behind him came two other crew members carrying a stretcher with a sleeping Ryoga on it.

"You really owe me big time for this, Morpheus," Patch stated. Trinity and Neo took over with the stretcher and carried it aboard.

"What happened to you?" Morpheus asked Patch, looking over his wounds.

"Your new recruit happened, that's what. After we got his muscles and body healed, we tried talking to him, let him know what was going on. He went wild when he didn't see anyone he recognized. My medic finally got him sedated but it cost him a broken arm. Not to mention what he did to me. Like I said, you owe me." He turned around and boarded his ship. "We've been called back to Zion for recharge and refit. Commander Lock says you are to hold our position here until we get back."

Morpheus frowned and boarded his ship. He met up with Trinity and Neo in the medlab where they had taken Ryoga.

"So what's next?" Neo asked.

"Tomorrow, when Ranma and Akane wake up, we bring them straight here. I don't want a repeat of what happened on Patch's ship when Ryoga wakes up. After that, we'll take them into the Construct together. I'll handle the explanation, but given what little we know of their past, a little extra help wouldn't hurt. Until then, lets see how much we can find out about their lives inside the Matrix. Trinity will do the background on Akane, Neo will take Ranma, and I'll do Ryoga. Understood?" Seeing the nods around the table, Morpheus stood. "Okay, let's get to it."

* * *

Ranma woke up early the next morning after more than ten hours of sleep. He slowly raised himself into a sitting position and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. As he looked around the room, he realized two things. First, Ranma realized that everything he remembered about the last two days had actually happened. Second he realized that he was hungry. He was about to go out in search of something to eat when someone knocked at the door. 

"Come in," Ranma said as he turned towards the door. He didn't know whether he was expecting to see Neo, Trinity, or Morpheus. He was definitely NOT expecting who came in.

"Hello, Ranma," Akane said. Her voice was trembling as if she was terrified.

It took Ranma a minute to understand exactly why she was so nervous. Unbidden, memories of all the times that he had called her an uncute tomboy came rushing back to him. Now as she stood there before him, Ranma realized that Akane was afraid that he would think it even more now that her hair was cut as close as his was. In that instant Ranma knew after everything that had just happened to them, the one thing that Akane feared above all else was that he would reject her. Ranma kicked himself inside for all the times he had hurt her. As he continued to stare at her, Ranma noticed how close Akane was to tears. Finally he did what he knew he had always wanted to do. Slowly Ranma rose off the bed and walked to Akane and, before she could move or say anything, raised her head and kissed her deeply.

Akane was shocked by what was happening. She was even more shocked to find that not only was she returning Ranma's kiss but enjoying it as well. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly against her for what seemed like forever. Finally they broke the kiss and stared into each others eyes. In that moment, more was said between them than any amount of words ever could. Finally Akane broke the silence.

"So does this mean you don't think I'm not cute?"

Ranma looked her and smiled. "No I still think you are so not cute." Before Akanes temper could come to a head, he kissed her again. "I think you're beautiful," he finished.

Akane flushed and playfully swatted the back of Ranma's head. "You sweet baka. C'mon lets go see Ryoga."

Akane took Ranma's hand and led him out of his room towards the medlab.

Ryoga's ears worked. He knew this because he could hear himself groan in pain. He wasn't too sure about his eyes. First, he couldn't stand to open them, they hurt too much. Now, all he could see was a bright blur. Slowly, he sat up and shook his head clear. The room came into focus little by little. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a different room than he was before. It looked about the same but some of the details were different. That realization snapped him fully alert. DETAILS? The worse part of his misdirection was that everything always looked the same to him. He had never been able to distinguish details before. Looking around he saw the one thing he thought he would never see in all of his life.

Akane nudged Ranma with her elbow while she held onto his hand. When Ranma looked her way, she nodded towards the bed where Ryoga was sitting up. At once, Ranma released Akane's hand. Akane began to get upset and demand what was wrong when she noticed Ranma dropping into a defensive position, his eyes staying fixed on Ryoga. Akane then realized that Ranma had only let go of her so that he could defend himself against one of Ryoga's jealousy-motivated attacks. She quickly moved out of the way in anticipation of the first blow.

Strangely, Ryoga just stayed on the bed looking shocked. Finally, he got up and weakly made his way to Ranma who stayed on guard. Ranma didn't know what to expect from Ryoga but he swore to himself he would be ready for anything that happened. At least, that's what he thought. Nothing could have prepared him for what Ryoga actually did.

Walking right up to Ranma, Ryoga looked at him for only a second before surprising everyone by taking Ranma's hand in a friendly grasp.

"Congratulations, man. Just be sure you treat her right."

If face-faults were real, the whole ship would have shook form the one that would have occurred. Ranma just stood there looking from Ryoga to his clasped hand and back again. Finally, he smiled and returned the handshake.

"Thanks, Ryoga. You know I will."

Akane came forward at this time, tears streaming down her face, and grabbed both of them in a huge group hug which everyone quickly returned. After she pulled away, she looked at Ryoga and said, "Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean you were pretty infatuated with me before."

Ryoga smiled gently at her. "I know. For some reason my feeling aren't as strong as they were a few days ago. I really can't explain it."

"No, but I think that maybe I can," came a new voice from the door. Everyone turned to see Neo standing there with Trinity and Morpheus. "If you will all come with us I think it's time for us to tell you the whole truth. It may not be pretty but at least it is the truth."

The three Nerimans looked at each other and slowly followed the trio to the control room of the ship. In the center of the room were numerous chairs just like they had seen in the room at the warehouse. There was one noticeable difference. Where their heads rested was a large hole and positioned behind it was a large metal cable that ended in a point. It was in the right position to be inserted into the plug in the back of their necks. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga eyed the chairs suspiciously until Morpheus spoke to them.

"Have we done anything yet to harm you? Believe me, if I could prove this to you with just words, I would,but this is something you need to truly see in order to accept it."

Grudgingly, each of the new crew members allowed themselves to be helped into the chairs. They became a little more nervous when they noticed that their wrists and feet were being restrained.

Neo smiled. "Take it from me. It's necessary for your first time."

Akane wished she could reach out to take Ranmas hand as Trinity came behind her. "This is going to feel a little weird," was the last thing she heard before she felt a surge in her head.

* * *

Akane opened her eyes to find herself, as well as Ranma and Ryoga, in what for all intents and purposes was nothing. She then gasped as she realized that her hair and body were back to normal. She looked down and noticed she was wearing her favorite blue and yellow dress. One look at Ranma and Ryoga confirmed that they too looked the same as they had a few days ago. Ranma had his customary pig tail and red Chinese shirt and black pants while Ryoga was in his usual traveling outfit complete with bandannas and umbrella. She felt a presence behind her and turned to see Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity in the same clothes they had worn when they had first met. As a group, the three teens walked towards them. 

"W-where are we?" Akane asked.

"This is the Construct. It's a simulation program similar to the Matrix," Morpheus answered, gesturing around them.

"You mean we're inside a computer program right now," Ranma stated.

"Is it so hard to believe?" Morpheus asked. "Look at yourselves. Your hair is back to the way you had it before. The plugs in your arms are gone. Your clothes have changed. What you look like now is what we call residual self image. More basically, it's how you see yourself as being in the Matrix."

Morpheus gestured behind the three teens. They turned and saw three chairs facing a television. All of these seemed to have come out of nowhere. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga walked over to the chairs and felt them as if trying to prove their existence. Reluctantly, they each sat down.

"So this isnt real?" Ryoga asked.

"What is real? If real is what you can see, hear, touch, or taste, then real is simply electronic signals processed by your brain." Morpheus picked up a remote and clicked it at the TV. Meanwhile Neo and Trinity moved behind the three chairs, readying themselves for any kind of reaction to what was about to be said.

"This is the world you knew," Morpheus said. The TV came on and showed Nerima as they remembered it. Views of the Tendo dojo, Uchanns, Furinken High School, and the Nekohanten passed on the screen. "This was mankind at the turn of the twentieth century. It was practically the peak of our existence. Now it is merely an existence within a complex and interactive virtual reality simulation that we call the Matrix."

Ranma slowly began to digest what was being told to him. "Are you saying all that we have done, all that we have experienced never really happened?" Ryoga and Akane leaned forward in their chairs awaiting Morpheus answer.

Morpheus sighed. Now came the really hard part. "That's right. You all have been living in a dream world. This is the world as it exists today." As he said this, Morpheus gestured with his hands. The world around them became a dark place. Everyone found themselves standing on a rock face. The sky was black and stormy, thunder and lightning crashing all around them. With no sun available, the air was cold and harsh. Akane moved instinctively to Ranma who wrapped his arms around her. As the three of them looked around, they saw the towering remains of a huge city, the buildings now no more than crumbling spires of rusted metal.

"Welcome to the desert," Morpheus simply stated.

Akane shivered in Ranma's arms and he held her tighter, looking into her eyes to help offer her some strength. Ryoga stood nearby and looked at Morpheus.

"What happened to this place?" he asked.

"We don't know for certain all the details. What we do know is this. At some point in the early 21st century mankind made an astounding achievement that united the entire world. We created AI."

Akane looked confused. "AI?" she asked.

Surprisingly it was Ranma who answered her. "I know what that is: artificial intelligence. Are you saying we created a machine that could live and learn?" He suddenly noticed that everyone was staring at him in shock. "What? It was on one of those American Star Trek shows."

"That's exactly what happened, Ranma," Morpheus replied. "That first machine then began to create an entire race of machines that could think, learn, adapt, and evolve. In essence, the machines truly did live.

"For a while, things were peaceful. The machines did a lot of the work while humanity enjoyed life. But after a while something happened. We don't know what. We don't even know who struck first, but the peace was shattered."

Ryoga blanched. "You mean there was a war between man and the machines."

Morpheus nodded. "And man lost. In a final act of desperation, the leaders of the time devised and carried out a plan that would block out the sun for centuries to come. The machines at the time were dependant entirely on solar power as an energy source. What they had in reserve however was enough to practically destroy mankind."

"I don't get it," Akane stated. "If we blocked out the sun, how are the machines still surviving? Where are they getting their energy from now?" She just knew they wouldn't like the answer. She feared she already knew what it was.

Morpheus smiled. "For centuries, man has depended on his machines to live. It seems fate is not without a sense of irony."

Ranma immediately caught what Morpheus was saying. He thought back to the plugs that were all over his real body. "They're using us. Humans are their new energy source." Morpheus nodded. "So the Matrix..."

"Is a way to keep humanity under their control while the machines process our bioelectrical and thermal power to stay alive, "Morpheus finished.

"But humans grow old. They die. Plus, they need nourishment to keep their bodies alive," Ryoga protested. "How are these machines doing all this?"

"Are you sure you want to know? The answer isn't pleasant."

"Nothing of what you have told us so far has been either," Akane pointed out.

"Good point. Very well then." Morpheus pulled out the TV remote and pressed a button. Instantly, everybody was back where they first appeared, staring at the TV screen. On the screen was what looked to be a human baby inside the womb. But as the screen pulled back, they were shocked to see that it was a module of some kind on what appeared to be somesort of mechanical tree. The three watched in horror as another machine literally picked the pod off the tree and sucked it into a tube. The next image they saw was of a newborn baby with cables plugged in all over it's body and a feeding tube stuck down it's throat. Akane paled.

"W-what do they feed them?" She stammered.

"The machines liquefy the dead to be fed to the living."

"This can't be true," Ryoga stated.

"I don't believe this," Ranma followed with.

"It's just not possible," Akane finished.

"I didn't say it would be easy," Morpheus stated. "Just that it would be the truth." He looked worriedly at his newest crew members. They were starting to turn a sickly pale. He motioned to Trinity and Neo and they were each just in time to catch one of them as they passed out.

"Link," Morpheus called as he struggled with Ryogas unconscious form. "Pull us out."

* * *

"We can't go back to the way things were, can we?" Ranma didn't rise up in his bed as he asked the question. He still couldn't believe what he had been told, but didn't have a better explanation for what was going on. He knew he wasn't dreaming; he had experienced too much physical pain. His mind was too alert to be hallucinating, so he figured it all must be real. 

"I told you before you took the red pill that you couldn't." Morpheus sighed from his chair on the other side of the room. "Even if you could, would you want to?"

This time it was Ranma's turn to sigh. "No, I don't think I would. As crazy as the real world is, it still pales in comparison to my life inside.

"About that, I think you and Ryoga need to talk away from Akane. We pulled your histories of your lives inside the Matrix while you were asleep and I think we need to address a certain issue, especially since it's going to be one of Ryoga's main weapons."

"You're talking about P-chan, aren't you? Ryoga's curse I mean." Ranma pulled himself up and looked to Morpheus who nodded.

"A big part about being a member of this crew is trust. Ryoga betrayed Akane's for a long time inside. Since he will probably be using it sometimes when he's working for us inside, she's bound to finally see it, no matter how hard he tries to hide it. The rest of us can't be the one to tell her though. Like I said it's all about trust."

Ranma nodded and got up off his bed. "Is Ryoga awake yet?" Ranma asked.

"Neo is with him now telling him the same thing I'm telling you. I feel a little guilty about him. We brought him out without giving him any real clue as to what was happening."

"That was my fault, remember? I'm the one who convinced him to take that red pill in a hurry. I was the one who lied to him. If you show me where he is, we'll have a little talk about it."

Morpheus nodded. As he was leading Ranma out of the room, he turned back towards him. "By the way, since you and Akane are an engaged couple, I've arranged for the two of you to share a room with a bed big enough for two. Similar arrangements will be made for you in Zion"

"Maybe we should wait to see how Akane reacts to my knowledge of P-chan before you make that permanent," Ranma smiled as he followed Morpheus through the ship to Ryoga's room. "What's Zion?"

"It's the last real human city. Hopefully, you'll live long enough to call it home like so many of us have."

"Where is it? I can't believe there is a part of the surface that the machines can't reach."

"There isn't. Zion is buried deep underground as close to the Earth's core as we can get."

Ranma was trying to imagine what Zion would be like when Morpheus pointed him towards the door to Ryoga's room,

* * *

Ryoga was in a panic. He knew, of course, that Neo was right about having to tell Akane about P-chan. That didn't make it any easier on him though. He had betrayed her by continually posing as her pet pig for the last year, using it to sleep in her bed and watch her undress. He had tried to justify it by telling himself he was protecting her from Ranma, but now he realized that he had been lying to himself the entire time. He had even caused Ranma to hurt Akane by making him keep his secret from the woman that he loved. 

Ryoga was still debating what to tell Akane when Ranma knocked and entered his room. Ryoga turned and saw that Ranma was looking very uneasy at the moment. In fact it was almost as though he was in regret over something. Finally, Ranma spoke.

"Look, Ryoga, I really feel like I owe you an apology. I tricked you into coming with us without letting you know what was really going on. I mean I didn't know everything we just found out, but I still knew a lot more than you did."

"Why did you ask me to come with you anyway? You knew how I felt about Akane, or at least how I did inside the Matrix. You could have gotten rid of me and had her without any risk of interference."

"I don't know, really. I guess because I knew it would make things a little easier for Akane to have someone else she trusted come along. To be honest, it's helping me as well. We may never have been good friends, but…"

"But we were never really enemies either," Ryoga finished. "Yeah, I felt the same way. I knew all those times I said I was going to kill you that I never really could."

"I know. Now we have one more obstacle to overcome. Morpheus said we have to tell Akane the truth about P-chan."

"Yeah, Neo just told me the same thing. They're right, too. We can't have any more secrets now. Not with what we have facing us. I just don't know what to say to her."

"Hey, man, neither do I." Ranma put a reassuring hand on Ryoga's shoulder. Ryoga looked over at him and smiled. He felt a great weight had been lifted off him in that moment. Ranma continued. "But you won't have to tell her on your own. I'll be right there with you."

"Thanks, Ranma. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Now let's go find her and get this over with."

* * *

Three youths soon found themselves surrounded by nothing but white. Ranma and Ryoga were both clad in their usual attire. Both were surprised to see that Akane was wearing her old training gi. She noticed that both Ranma and Ryoga were both fidgeting in front of her, nervously trying to look at her without looking into her eyes. Finally, Ryoga spoke up. 

"Akane, there's something that I really need to tell you. You're probably not going to like it, but it needs to be said." He looked at her and was instantly on his guard. She was beaming her brightest smile at him. Ryoga immediately looked to the ground. "Well, you see, it's about your little pet pig, P-chan."

Ranma noticed that Akane was slowly walking towards Ryoga. Her hands seemed to be rising above her head.

"You have got to be kidding," Ranma thought as he moved to intercept her. He already knew he would be too late. Ryoga was still looking down.

"The truth is I have a Jusenkyo curse and, well…" Ryoga just yelled the last part. "AKANE, I'M SORRY BUT I'M P-CHAN."

"RYOGA NO BAKA!" Ryoga looked up to see Akane produce her mallet above her head and swing downward. He steeled himself for the blow. When he didn't feel it, he slowly opened his eyes. Ranma must have stopped her. He looked up and froze in fear.

Akane's mallet had stopped a mere inch away from his head. Surprisingly, Ranma was still running to get to them. What happened next shocked both of the men. Akane's mallet dropped to the floor followed by Akane herself, rolling around and clutching her sides. She was laughing so hard she had tears running down her face.

"You…should...have...seen...your...face," she blurted out between laughs. "It was so priceless." It took her a few minutes to get control of herself. Akane stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You knew," Ranma exclaimed as he reached her side. "You knew before we came in here, didn't you?"

She flashed him a bright smile. "Uh-huh," Akane nodded.

"But how?" Ryoga asked. "Did Trinity tell you?"

"Nope, I figured it out for myself."

"When?" Ranma demanded. "You seemed to be totally clueless back in the Matrix."

"Actually, I was," Akane replied. "But after we were pulled out and I had some time to remember things from our lives inside, I started to notice things like the bandannas, how you both constantly got lost, how I never saw you two at the same time, and, of course," she finished, looking at Ranma, "how you, Ranma, were always trying to keep P-chan away from me at night. We will have to have a little talk about you not telling me, by the way."

Ranma cringed, thinking it was a good thing that he asked Morpheus to keep that room open. Ryoga stepped in, though.

"It wasn't his fault, Akane. I used his Warrior's Code to make him promise not to tell you. I'm sorry."

"Well, you guys did intend to finally tell me so I guess I can forgive the both of you." The look she gave Ranma, though, made it clear they still had some things to settle.

This finally proved to be too much for Ranma. "Alright!" he yelled. "Something here just doesn't add up. Akane realized Ryoga and P-chan were the same, Ryoga's not in love with Akane, Akane's temper is practically non-existent, and now she is quick to forgive us. What the hell is going on?"

"I believe we can finally answer that question," a deep voice said behind them. All three of them turned to see Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity walking towards them. "It's time we had another long talk."

END CHAPTER ONE

Well, here it is. The first chapter of my first fanfic. I was originally going to extend it to include their training and first trip in the Matrixall the way up to their first meeting with the Oracle. The only problem was I found myself starting to write Ch. 4 already or at least some scenes from it. I'll just say that Chapter four will be a big moment in this story. I won't say more than that.

Because this is my first attempt at a fanfic, I welcome all C&C, but, for the same reason, I hope you will be gentle with any criticism.

I hope to mak this story at least ten chapters long. I have ideas out to at least the end of Chapter 5 with some vague ideas swimming around on how to continue.

For timeline purposes this story take place approximately six months after the failed wedding and two months after Neo has been freed.

I wish to thank my prereaders. Mostly they are people on my ship. I am fortunate that one of them is Alan Harnum. Although he does strongly disagree with something I planned to do in the future, his help has been invaluable.

I also wish to thank Stiffanie Flores for being a prereader and for inspiring me with her story "Waiting For You." It was this story that helped me make a very difficult decision about the events to come.

Finally I wish to thank my loving wife, Jewel, who has just been a endless source of creative inspiration. Honey, I love you so much.

OK I know these notes are getting a little mushy, so all I have left to say is I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and I promise that I am workingon chapter 2 (and 4) as we speak.


	2. Revelation and Education

Once again, I don't own Ranma or the Matrix. Wish I did. I'd be rich beyond my wildest dreams. As it is, I'm just a poor sailor boy.

RANMA UNPLUGGED

Chapter 2: Let Your Mind Go

"This is amazing," Akane stated as she examined the room they were all in. Ranma couldn't agree with her more. In a mere instant, they had gone from the all-white space they had been standing in to a perfect simulation of a dojo. Not just any dojo, either. All three were amazed to find themselves back in the Tendo dojo from home. They took a few minutes to look around and admired the detail that had been recreated.

"We hope you don't mind," Morpheus said, "but we felt that you might be a little more comfortable in here."

"How did you know what this place looked like?" Ranma asked. He noticed that Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity had all shifted to a kung-fu style of training gi. Akane was still in hers and Ranma had shifted to the one he had worn when he and his dad had been on their training journey. Ryoga was in his usual traveling outfit. Sometimes Ranma wondered if he owned any other clothes.

"Like I told you before, we researched your lives back in the Matrix. This is just one of the many places we discovered. It seemed to be a place you liked to go when you had to sort things out."

"Speaking of sorting things out," Ryoga said, "are you going to tell us now why certain things are so different than they were before?"

Morpheus sat down in the middle of the dojo with Trinity and Neo taking a place to either side of him. Ranma and the others did the same facing them. When everyone was comfortable, Morpheus began his tale.

"Back when the Matrix was first created; there was a man inside who could do amazing things, things that were normally impossible. He had the ability to use his mind to reshape the Matrix in any way he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us and taught us how to fight back. When he died, the Oracle prophesized his return. She told us that his arrival would herald the end of the Matrix and bring with it the freedom of humanity."

Ranma interrupted Morpheus. "That still doesn't explain why things are so different now." Morpheus stopped him with a raise of his hand.

"Please allow me to finish. You see, we humans weren't the only ones who knew of this prophecy. The machines knew it as well. Just as we waited and searched the Matrix to free this person, so did the machines in order to destroy him. At one point, the machines believed they had figured out who the One was."

Akane paled. "You guys were originally after Ranma and not the rest of us. Are you saying that Ranma is this One you were looking for?" Ranma for his part had a rather smug look on his face. It would seem to be on par for his life as a whole. Morpheus noted the smirk and smiled.

"Settle down, Ranma. You are not the One we were all looking for. We found him only a few months ago."

"Well then if it's not Ranma, then who is it?" Ryoga demanded

"Me," Neo stated. "But this is getting off of the original question."

Morpheus nodded and continued. "As I said the machines thought they knew who the One was. They had been monitoring the Matrix for any signs of a person who could do impossible things. Imagine what they felt when they noticed all the things that one Ranma Saotome could already do and what his potential was in the future.

"The machines were cautious, though. They began to watch you closely, Ranma, and look back into your past. As they watched, they noticed that, while skilled as a fighter, you were missing certain mental abilities. The machines were about to move on when they discovered the marriage agreement between your two fathers. Upon learning of it, they then began to watch the Tendos, more specifically the Tendo daughters. The machines found that what was lacking in Ranma was to be found in the three daughters.

"From you, Akane, was a physical strength and mental determination unmatched by anything they had ever encountered. From your sister Nabiki, a cunning and calculating mind able to plan for any circumstance. Finally, your oldest sister Kasumi had in her the ability to keep her mind at total peace no matter what circumstances surrounded her.

"It was then that the machines began to fear not someone who already was, but someone who was to be."

Ranma finally understood what Morpheus was saying. "No matter which sister I ended up marrying, any child that was later born would be taught everything that each of us knew. In essence, a person who would be at peace 100 both in mind and body."

"Exactly, Ranma. The machines knew that the Tendo family was so close to each other that they would pass down all their knowledge and skill to any future descendants."

Akane spoke up. "So why didn't they just plan to not allow us to have any children? The machines control the Matrix, so they could do that, couldn't they"

"That's true," Trinity told her. "The Matrix could simply be programmed that you would never bear a child for some unknown reason, but then they could not plan for the possibility of you adopting or somehow finding another way to raise a child."

"Then the next logical thing would have been to kill Ranma," Ryoga stated. "Why didn't they try that?"

"Whoever said that they didn't?" Morpheus answered. "Think of Ranma's Neko-ken training or Shampoo's kiss of death. Each time Ranma managed to escape death."

"The machines tried everything they could to prevent Ranma from reaching the Tendo dojo to fulfill the agreement, but despite their efforts, you became engaged to Akane. The machines then did the next thing they could try to do."

"They did everything that they could to keep us from growing closer," Akane realized. "Then the Matrix was responsible for all the craziness."

"We found out that certain emotions were enhanced in several people surrounding Ranma," Neo told them. "With Ryoga, they amplified his feelings for Akane in an attempt to bring someone else into her life as a possible love match. Akane's temper was greatly increased so that she would hopefully drive Ranma away and destroy any feelings he might develop for her."

"You mean everything we went through was all caused by our minds being 'tweaked' by the system." Ranma was not sure how to react to this revelation. In a way he felt violated. "I don't understand, though. You said that Neo was revealed to be the one. Do the machines know this?"

"Of course they know. Tell me when was the last time something truly extraordinary happened to you to keep you two apart?" Morpheus asked Ranma and Akane.

The answer was obvious to all of them. Akane was the one who gave the answer. "It was six months ago, back when everybody kept us from getting married at the dojo."

"I was pulled out two days later and revealed to be the One," Neo said. "After the machines realized this, they began to reduce their efforts to keep you two apart, seeing that it was no longer necessary."

"You're right," Ranma exclaimed. "Both Shampoo and Ukyo became less aggressive, at least a little, but the machines couldn't suddenly have everything change or we would have noticed that something was wrong. That's why Akane still had her temper and didn't figure out the connection between P-chan and Ryoga." Ranma turned to Ryoga. "Come to think of it that was when you started spending most of your time with Akari."

Ranma regretted his words when he saw Ryoga stiffen, his face becoming sadder. Akane saw this as well and put a hand on Ryoga's shoulder.

"Sorry, Ryoga," she said. "We know you must really miss her."

"Yeah," Ryoga said sadly, "but I'll be okay. It will just take time, that's all." Nobody noticed the soft grin that was appearing on Trinity's face.

Finally Ranma turned to Morpheus. "What about the Jusenkyo curses? Obviously the machines were responsible for that, but I hadn't made it to the Tendo dojo by then. What was the reason behind them?"

Morpheus shrugged. "Honestly we don't know. We did find some mention to it in the Matrix information files but they always referred to a weapons testing program. It doesn't go into much detail at that level though. We are still looking.

"This conversation has taken longer than expected and it's getting late. I was planning on getting an idea of your combat abilities so we could begin your training, but that can wait until tomorrow. For now, let's go back and get something to eat. After that I suggest you all get as much rest as you can for…"

Morpheus was interrupted by a loud siren that seemed to be screaming all around them. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga were immediately on their feet looking for the danger they knew had to be there.

"What's going on?" Akane cried.

"Sentinels," Morpheus shouted, getting top his feet. "Link, get us out of here."

* * *

Link quickly disconnected the plug from Morpheus who ran to the bridge. After disconnecting Neo, he ran to the control station for the EMP pulse. Neo disconnected Trinity who helped him disconnect the rest of them. When they were done all five of them ran to the bridge to join Morpheus. Neo and Trinity started to scan the area outside the ship while Morpheus navigated the tunnels from the pilot's chair. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga joined them before they realized they didn't know what it was they were supposed to be looking for.

"Uh, Neo, just what exactly are we looking for?" Akane asked.

"They're called Sentinels. Machines sent out for one purpose."

"And that is?" Ranma asked.

Trinity gave him a hard look. "Search and destroy."

Ryoga gulped hard. "So what do they look like?"

"We also call them squiddies because they resemble big metal squids," Neo stated.

"Quiet," Morpheus said as he piloted the ship into an alcove and set down. He then proceeded to powered down all but the essential systems. "How are we doing, Link?"

"Full system shut down complete," Link said over the intercom.

Neo checked a status board near him. "EMP is charged and ready," he reported to Morpheus.

"EMP?" Akane asked.

"Electromagnetic pulse," Trinity replied. "It's the only real effective weapon against the machines."

"What does it do?" Ryoga asked.

"It puts out a pulse that disables any electronic equipment within the blast radius."

"I said quiet," Morpheus repeated. "Here they come."

A few seconds later, a metal monstrosity appeared in front of the ship. Just like Neo said, it resembled a giant metal squid. The Sentinel spread its arms out in front of it, dishes protruding out of the end of its tentacles. It hovered there for what seemed like several hours, though in reality it was only a few minutes. Finally the Sentinel retracted its arms and moved on. Morpheus waited another ten minutes before breathing a sigh of relief.

"All right, Link, let's slowly power up the ship."

"Yes, sir," Link said over the intercom.

"I don't get it," Ranma said. "It was right in front of us. Why couldn't it see us?"

"They can only pick up things like sound, heat, and energy signatures. At our low power level, it only saw us as another piece of rubble," Trinity explained.

"We'll wait about another hour before we move from here to a place we can rest for the night. Tomorrow we'll start your training."

Neo and Trinity led the three youths through the ship into the cramped mess hall. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga each grabbed a bowl from the table and followed Trinity to a spout connected to a pipe coming from the ceiling. They watched as she turned the lever on the side of the spout and were horrified at the substance that came out. It was a gloppy white liquid that seemed to have yellowish lumps mixed in with it. When her bowl was full, Trinity turned the lever back to its original setting and sat down at the table.

Ranma walked up to the spout and eyed it suspiciously. He really could not see how what had come out could ever be classified as food. He looked around but didn't see anything else to eat in the space. Finally, he sighed and pulled the lever. When his bowl was full, he turned off the spout and joined Trinity, who was already eating. He turned to her slowly.

"This is food?" he asked her with a disbelieving look on his face. The other two Nerimans seemed anxious to hear the answer as well. Neo grinned as he looked on. He recalled thinking along similar lines when he had his first meal on board. He was sure these three would find the answer as satisfactory as he did.

"I know it doesn't look like much; hell, I'll be honest it doesn't taste like much either; but it will fill you up," Trinity replied.

"But what is it? I mean even Akane's cooking looked better than this."

Ranma flinched as a spoon came sailing across the room and plastered it self on his forehead. Everyone turned to the source of the spoon which was a somewhat irritated looking Akane. "Watch it, Ranma," she growled, giving him a nasty little smile. She sat down on the opposite side of the table from him.

Trinity decided to avoid any further confrontations by answering Ranma's question. "It's an amino acid compound fortified with protein and vitamins. Basically, everything your body needs to sustain itself."

Trinity looked to Akane. She instantly saw that her answer hadn't distracted the young girl from her anger. She sighed and hoped they wouldn't be needing the medlab again so soon.

Ryoga slid beside Ranma and leaned close to him. "If you want to stay on her good side, I would suggest you try the Saotome Crouch of the Wild Tiger your pop showed you when Happosai gave you that moxibustion thing," he whispered into Ranma's ear.

Ranma gulped and nodded; he really hated having to use this technique, especially with other people around. The fact that he was doing it to Akane made him feel worse. Finally, he resigned himself to his fate and performed the dreaded technique. Taking Akane's hand in his own, he bowed his head.

"Akane, I'm sorry. I spoke without thinking like I always do and I hurt your feelings. I'll try to not do it again. I humbly ask your forgiveness."

He looked up to see Akane smiling at him. "Well I guess you just wouldn't be Ranma if you didn't stick your foot in your mouth once in a while. You may not get the mallet treatment in the real world, but I can still bop you in the head. Just remember that."

Ranma smiled at her and nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way. He leaned forward across the table and gave Akane a warm kiss which she returned. "I don't know if anyone told you," Ranma said after the kiss was over, "but Morpheus has a room with a double bed set up for the two of us to share."

Akane blushed and looked down. "I don't know, Ranma. I mean I do love you, but we're not married yet. It's not really proper for us to be in the same bed, is it?"

Trinity smiled. "It all depends on the two of you. We do have priests and marriages in our society in Zion, but we have also learned that love doesn't need to be bound by it. Neo and I have never been through any kind of ceremony but we sleep together in a room of our own for the simple reason that we love each other. Happiness is a rare commodity in this day and age. So when you find it, you best enjoy it."

Ranma lifted Akane's chin so that she was looking into his eyes. He could see the tears that were threatening to come forth. "Akane, it's up to you. I love you and I don't have a problem with this if you don't. If you want to wait until we are formally married, though, then I will respect your wishes."

This time the tears did come as Akane looked into the eyes of the man she loved. Finally she stood up and walked to Ranma's side. Taking his hand in hers, she led him out of the mess hall.

Neo and Trinity couldn't help but smile until they saw Ryoga's depressed look. Trinity looked at him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Ryoga. I have a feeling it won't be too long before you find someone to make you happy too."

Ryoga just looked at her sadly and got up, heading out the door to his own room. After he left, Neo slid beside her. "I saw that grin you had earlier in the construct. With what you just said, I'm beginning to think you know something the rest of us don't."

Trinity smiled. "That, my dear Neo, is something I will keep to myself for now."

Neo kissed her neck. "C'mon, let's go to bed. We all have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." With that, he took Trinity's hand and led her to their room.

* * *

Once they were out of the messhall, Akane led Ranma to a corridor that appeared would afford them some privacy. She looked around to make sure that they couldn't be heard, then gave a deep sigh and looked into his eyes.

"Ranma, I think we need to really talk about what is happening between us."

The look that Akane was giving him immediately gave Ranma a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew what his feelings were for the girl -"No, woman," he told himself- and though he was nervous about it, Ranma knew that he couldn't bear to lose her. He reached up to caress Akane's face.

"I don't understand. I thought our feelings were obvious, especially with the kiss we shared earlier."

"That's just it, Ranma. That kiss has got me thinking about everything that has happened between us over the last year. Let's face it; we've never had what anyone would call a loving engagement. Now with all of this that has happened, it scares me. I really do believe that I love you, but I think I still need some time to sort out all of my feelings."

Akane's tears were coming harder now. Ranma looked at her with a longing look and then took her into a strong embrace. He let her cry into his shoulder for a few minutes and then lifted her head to look into her eyes. They were puffy and red, and yet they still looked like the loveliest set of eyes he could ever imagine. Finally he lowered his head and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Akane, I meant it when I said I loved you. I also meant it a few minutes ago when I said I would respect whatever your wishes are."

"I want us to have a real relationship, but I think we need to slow down some and take our time. Would you be upset if we shared the room, but not the bed?" Akane's eyes were pleading with every ounce of her soul as Ranma continued to look into them. Finally, he nodded.

"If that's what you want, then it's alright with me." He was immediately rewarded with a hug big enough to put Shampoo's daily glomps to shame.

"Thank you, Ranma. This really means a lot to me."

Ranma caressed her face and then took her hand. "C'mon. Let's find Morpheus to show us our room and get a bedroll for me."

* * *

The next morning, Neo waited for the door to be answered after he knocked on the door to the room Akane and Ranma had been assigned. When Ranma answered, Neo was quite surprised to find the bedroll on the floor next to the bed. Ranma followed his gaze and then chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"We decided to take things one step at a time for now," he stated. Neo nodded in understanding.

"Everybody else is waiting in the control room, so we need you up there right away. Did you get enough sleep last night? That doesn't look too comfortable sleeping on the floor."

Ranma shrugged. "It's no worse than some of the places me and Pop slept on our training trip. All we had were bedrolls even after we got to the dojo."

"Well, in any case, I guarantee that you'll have no problem sleeping tonight." With that he walked out of the room, leaving Ranma to puzzle over those words while he woke up Akane.

Twenty minutes later, Ranma and Akane arrived on the control deck and took in all the activity going on. Ryoga was already getting settled into his chair with Morpheus operating the terminal next to it. Ranma and Akane both went to the chairs Trinity and Neo were setting up and sat down in them. Morpheus finished his preparations on Ryoga's terminal and came around so that all three of them could see him.

"As I said yesterday, we will now begin your training. The first thing we are going to do is teach you about this ship and its operations. After that we will get into weapons training. This will familiarize you with a numerous assortment of hand weapons as well as several different types of firearms."

"Wait a second," Ranma objected. "We're martial artists. We don't use guns. There's no honor in them." The others nodded in agreement.

"Tell me, Ranma, is there any honor in dying uselessly simply because you refuse to use the tools required of you?" Morpheus words gave Ranma pause as he thought about it. Finally, he gave up and slowly shook his head. "While there will be times that you will be fighting hand to hand, you will find that most of the enemies you encounter in the Matrix will simply try to shoot you. You will need to learn how to use firearms in order to defend yourself against them. Is that understood?"

All three of them nodded their heads though they still had dejected looks on their faces. They listened closely as Morpheus continued. Neo and Trinity went around to each of them and inserted the interfaces into their necks.

"Finally, Neo, Trinity, and I will join the three of you in the Construct to evaluate your fighting skills in order to determine what you need to learn to complete your training. Are there any questions?" Morpheus concluded. He nodded to Akane as she raised her hand.

"This is an awful lot for us to learn. How long is this going to take?"

Morpheus smiled. "You should be able to have the basic knowledge for piloting and operating this ship in about half an hour."

Ryoga thought he must have heard wrong. "How are we going to do that?"

"Like this," Morpheus said as he signaled Link. When he saw it, Link hit a button on the screen in front of him. Immediately all three youths reacted with strained looks and tightened grips on their chairs. After about ten seconds, they finally relaxed though all of them were gasping for breath.

"What the hell was that?" Ranma demanded. He was instantly shocked into silence as he realized that his last question had just come out in fluent English. Ryoga and Akane were just as surprised to learn that they had understood perfectly what Ranma had said.

"That was the complete English language being downloaded directly into your brains. I admit it's quite a rush. It's also the fastest way we have to teach you. It also means you will remember every detail of what you learn. On a side not, it also made English your new first language, so it's what you'll be speaking from now on. At least unless you consciously choose to use another language"

"What's wrong with Japanese?" Akane asked.

"Why, nothing at all. I happen to think it is a very beautiful language. It just doesn't happen to be the official language in Zion. Besides, poor Link here hasn't been able to understand a word of our conversations since you guys got here. Unlike the rest of us, Link was born outside the Matrix in Zion, so he can't have information downloaded into his mind like we can. That's another reason for you to be speaking English, by the way. Link is going to be our lifeline between us and the real world whenever we go back into the Matrix. It's critical that he be able to communicate with you at all times." Morpheus looked over each of them to gauge their physical reactions to the information input. Satisfied that they were still physically healthy, he asked them, "So are you ready for lesson two?"

* * *

The rest of the morning went by in a blur for the three youths as byte after byte of knowledge was dumped into their minds. Following the impromptu English lesson were courses in Mathematics and all the sciences known to man. In the span of an hour, Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga had received a school education equivalent to most four-year university programs.

Morpheus declared a fifteen minute break so that they could sort through all the new knowledge they now possessed. At the end of it, all three settled back in their chairs and began to absorb the basics of mechanical engineering followed by complete schematics and operational procedures for the ship they were on. After another two hours of forced learning, it was time for lunch. Morpheus told them afterwards they would begin weapons training. Neo and Trinity led the trio back to the mess hall.

"How are you holding up?" Trinity asked Akane.

Akane groaned. "I never believed in information overload until now. I think I know how Ranma felt every time I nailed him with Mallet-sama."

Ranma laughed painfully. "No, trust me, Akane, this is worse."

"Mallet-sama? You mean that big hammer thing you pull out of thin air?" Neo asked.

"Yeah," Ranma replied. "It's an inside joke. You wouldn't understand."

* * *

True to his word, as soon as they were back, Morpheus had the three back into their chairs. They were surprised to see, however, that Morpheus was settling into a fourth chair.

"What are you doing?" Ryoga asked. "I thought we were getting weapons training pumped into our heads."

"This aspect of your training will take place in the Construct. I am going to be your instructor." With those words he settled his head down and Neo inserted the interface. "Are you three ready?" After getting affirmative answers from them, Morpheus nodded to Link, who in turn hit a button on the console in front of him.

The air was crisp all around them. Ranma looked around and saw that they were in what appeared to be a rock quarry. In the distance, he could see several man-shaped targets spaced apart ranging in distance from 50 to what looked like 500 yards. He turned around and saw that they were under a wooden structure. In front of him was a wooden counter behind which was a vast and endless looking supply of firearms. The variety ranged from simple handguns to shotguns to assault rifles. He was amazed to see that there even seemed to be rocket launchers on the shelves. Ranma turned to look at Akane and that's when his jaw dropped. Ryoga noticed his look and turned to see what he was staring at. What he saw threatened to give him an immense nosebleed.

Akane stood before them in skintight black jeans that showed off her features quite admirably. A black tank top adorned her torso hugging her body so close that it made Ranma wonder how he could have ever called her a tomboy. For shoes, she wore a pair of laceless black leather boots supported in the back by broad two inch heals. All in all, it was an outfit that screamed out her womanhood while also projecting the image that she was not one to take lightly in a fight.

"A-Akane," Ranma stammered, "how did… I mean when did you…?"

Akane giggled. "I take it you like."

Ranma grinned as he nodded. "It's definitely different. I mean you actually look like a girl now instead of some tomboy."

Having once again demonstrated the Saotome habit of inserting foot into mouth, Ranma soon found himself making impact with the side of the bunker. Slowly he got up and look towards Akane, who was just now dispelling Mallet-sama back into thin air.

"I did it again, didn't I?" he asked.

Ryoga just sighed and turned to Akane. "How did you do this anyway, Akane?"

"Well, Trinity was talking to me last night as we were going to the mess hall. I told her how I liked the outfit she was wearing when we first met her and she told me how I could appear in whatever clothes I wanted to anytime we went into the Construct or Matrix. All I had to do was picture myself in it. This was the first chance I had to try it out."

"I must say it is a look that suits you," Morpheus stated from behind her. This caused Akane to jump and answer with a spin kick to Morpheus' side, which he casually caught. "That will come later, Akane. For now I will familiarize you with the various pieces of arsenal we have at our disposal inside the Matrix." He walked behind the counter and reached for several handguns that included Beretta 9mm's, Walther PPK's, Glocks, and Desert Eagles. These he placed on the counter in front of Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga. Akane's eyes seemed to fall on the Eagles and she picked on up to get a feel for its weight. Morpheus immediately grabbed it out of her hands and placed it back on the counter. "Do not touch any of these weapons up until I have told you," he admonished. "The first rule with this lesson is you must always think safety."

"I thought you said this was a simulation," Ryoga said. Morpheus nodded. "Well then doesn't that mean that none of this is real?"

"Your mind makes it real. It accepts the pain and interprets the damage that your body receives."

Ranma paled. "So you're saying that if you die in the Matrix…"

"Then you die in the real world, too," Akane finished.

Again Morpheus nodded. "Because the body cannot survive without the mind. That's why even in here these weapons are dangerous and you must all follow set safety rules, the first of which is to treat every weapon as if it were loaded."

Akane humbly nodded and bowed her head, asking forgiveness of the person who was now their sensei.

"It's alright, Akane. You didn't know." He smiled as Akane raised her head. "Now then shall we begin?"

* * *

Despite their earlier protestations, it was clear that the aversion the young martial artists had to guns was soon decreased to one degree or another. Akane almost instantly saw the advantage such devices could hold to her, most especially because, unlike Ryoga or Ranma, she was unable to project a ki-based attack towards an opponent. After an hour of trying the various handguns available, Akane tended to favor the Desert Eagle she had first picked up and was quickly becoming quite skilled as a marksman. In the end, she decided on not one but two of the weapons which she would keep in a shoulder holster on each side.

Ranma and Ryoga were still a little reluctant to use the firearms, but they both conceded the point that there may come a time when it would be necessary to use them. They both settled on a single Beretta 9mm. How they would carry them was as yet undecided as they still did not know what kind of attire they would favor in the Matrix. Morpheus also had Ryoga train with a belt-fed M-60 automatic rifle. He reasoned the traveling backpack Ryoga wore would be ideal for concealing the weapon as well as holding a near-endless supply of ammunition. Ryoga was uninterested at first, but soon came to appreciate the rate of fire that it had as well as its accuracy.

After each had chosen their primary weapons, Morpheus set them on getting used to the various other choices that they had. They trained with everything, including M-4's, MP-5's, assault rifles, and shotguns, both standard and sawed-off. For a grand finale they were introduced to a fairly sizeable shoulder mounted rocket launcher complete with laser guided rounds. Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga inwardly dreaded the kind of opposition they would face that would force them to use such a weapon. After they had finished with all of their weapon's training, Morpheus called a halt to their lessons for the day.

After being unplugged from their interfaces, Morpheus told them to get some rest. The next day they would begin hand to hand training. The three youths went back to their rooms and, true to Neo's words, were fast asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

* * *

Morpheus and Link sat in the control center after everyone else had turned in for the evening. They were going over the playbacks of the day's training. Link to say the least was impressed.

"It's amazing, sir. I've never see anyone pick up this stuff as fast and completely as they are. Look here." He pointed to one of the monitors; it appeared to be displaying the brain wave patterns of the trainees. "Their neural kinetics are off the charts. It's like nothing I've seen before."

"I have," Morpheus told him. Seeing Link's shocked look he continued. "When we first began training Neo, his brain wave patterns were similar. Well, actually they were even more impressive."

"You know, sir, looking back on Ranma's life in the Matrix plus the skills he had, I wouldn't be surprised if he gave Neo a good run for his money in the combat training tomorrow."

"That could very well be, Link. I know what you are thinking. Neo is the One, not Ranma. Ranma may turn out to be as good as, or even better, than him in hand to hand combat. That doesn't make him the One, though. It's Neo's ability to bend his mind around the Matrix itself that makes him what he is. In any case, tomorrow should prove interesting."

"You think they'll be ready for the Jump and Agent program tomorrow?"

"With the speed that they are absorbing things, it wouldn't surprise me. I'm going to get some rest myself. Good night, Link."

"Good night, sir."

Morpheus had just made it to the door of the control room when Link called him back inside. He turned to find Link answering a communication from inside the Matrix. By the time Morpheus reached his side, Link had pulled off the headset and handed it to him. There was a great look of amazement on his face.

"It's her," was all Link said as Morpheus adjusted the headset. He didn't have to ask who "her" was.

"Oracle," Morpheus ventured.

"Yes, Morpheus, it's good to hear your voice."

"As it is to hear yours, but this is most unusual for you to contact us like this."

"If I had another option, I would use it. The time has come for me to speak to your new additions. The day after tomorrow you must bring them to me. We will make it easier on them by using a location familiar to them."

Morpheus' eyes widened as he recognized the address she told him. They went even wider at the words that followed. Finally, after receiving a few more instructions from the Oracle, he terminated the call and handed the headset back to Link who was looking at him with a puzzled look. "So what do we do now, sir?"

"Exactly as we must, Link. We'll wake them in another three hours. Have the dojo simulator prepared."

"Sir, they're already mentally exhausted. Are you sure they can take the pace of this?"

"They have to."

"But why?"

"Because they're going to save Zion."

END CHAPTER 2

OK I know this chapter is shorter than the last one and it doesn't cover everything I said it would but there's a good reason. I had to do a bit of a rewrtie and addition after I realized that I was bringing Akane and Ranma closer together faster than I wanted too. I also had to go back and explain how the gang was able to carry on conversation's with Morpheus crew in the real world when all they speak is Japanese (Thanks, Seth). I hope I covered that one well.

The next chapter is going to take me a few weeks because I have to right three separate fights and I've never done even one before so I hope you will all bear with me. I promise it's coming and we will return to Nerima and revisit old friends. For anyone who is a Ryoga fan, all I can say is in the next chapter, he will be pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed chapter two.


	3. The Next Lesson

Once again I do hereby state that Ranma is not mine nor are the characters of the Matrix. The only thing I can take credit for is the hovership _Argos_ and her captain.

RANMA UNPLUGGED

Chapter 3: The Next Lesson

Ranma didn't know how long he had been asleep, just that it hadn't been enough. The headache from all the information he had had pumped into his brain hadn't even begun to subside. The insistent knocking on his and Akane's door wasn't helping in the least. Groaning, he rose out of his bedroll and quietly walked to the door so he wouldn't wake up Akane as she slept in the bed. He would find a few moments later that it had hardly been necessary as he opened the door to find an equally exhausted Ryoga standing next to a grim looking Morpheus.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but circumstances have forced us to have to accelerate your training," Morpheus stated. "If you will be good enough to awaken Akane, we will return to the control room."

"Tell you what," Ranma stated through drooping eyes. "How about you wake her up and I arrange your funeral instead?"

"This is not the time for this. The Oracle has made it clear that she needs to meet with all of you in less than 48 hours. You will be able to sleep tonight, but for now we must complete as much of your training as possible."

Ranma sighed at his fate and turned to walk towards the bed. Standing over Akane's sleeping form he gently grasped her shoulder and lightly shook her. When that didn't have an effect, he tried adding a little more force, this time only getting a slight moan as Akane turned to her other side. Finally, not being able to think of anything else, he reached over and gave her a pinch right on her rear end. He had been expecting the punch that she ended up connecting to his face. Ranma had remembered that her physical body in this world was not as strong as what it had been in the Matrix. Unfortunately' he had forgotten that the same was also true of his own. He was reminded of it as he sailed backward way from their bed. Ryoga just stood in the doorway, watching an angry Akane roll out of bed.

"Now, THAT he had coming," he said. Morpheus merely nodded in agreement.

Thirty minutes later, three forms that resembled human beings stumbled their way into the control room. As they were guided to the chairs they had come to dread, they each felt a pinch in their arms that caused them to flinch.

"What the hell was that?" Ryoga demanded as he turned to Neo, who just happened to be the on standing beside him.

"An injection to help you wake up," Neo said as he set the hypo down on a tray and helped Ryoga get settled. "It's a mixture of synthesized adrenaline and caffeine. We need you alert for what is coming next." With that, he connected the interface and activated the program.

* * *

All three were soon standing once more in the Tendo dojo, each feeling a wave of sadness hit them. Even Ryoga found himself fighting back a feeling of homesickness. This was easy enough to understand seeing as how he had spent a lot of his time in the last year and a half at Akane's house as her pet, P-chan. In fact, this place had been more like home to him than his own had. Now, standing in the middle of the dojo, he wondered if he would ever know that feeling again.

For Akane the feelings welling up in her were threatening to bring tears to her eyes. She recalled how Trinity had told her she could never see her family again, how she was essentially dead to everyone she ever knew. She thought of her family and wondered how they were handling her being gone. Kasumi, she knew, would be hurting as bad as anyone else though she would hide it behind her usual cheerful attitude as she went about the domestic duties that had become her entire life. Dinner would still need to be prepared, laundry would still need to be done, and the house would still need to be cleaned.

Her father, she imagined, was probably flooding the house with an endless supply of tears as he carried on and on about how his little girl was gone. He was probably also bemoaning, along with Mr. Saotome, the fact that without her and Ranma there was no way that their dream of the two family's schools being united would ever be realized. It was more likely that Mr. Saotome was more worried about being thrown out of the house and having to return to his wife and tell her how Ranma had disappeared without a trace.

Finally, Akane thought about Nabiki. There was no doubt in her mind that her older sister was even now using all of her contacts and resources to track down her and Ranma. Of course, she was also probably doing a lot of rumor control at the school even as she took bets from the students regarding the many possible explanations from elopement to their deaths.

Remembering all her loved ones she left behind finally brought the tears to Akane's eyes despite her best efforts to hold them in. Seeing her tremble, Ranma walked over to her and held her tightly as she cried into his shoulder. She finally looked up at him with red eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Ranma. I just miss them so much."

"I know, Akane. So do I."

"The hardest part of all of this," said Morpheus' voice from behind them, "is learning how to let go. For now, we must enter into the unarmed combat phase of your training." He gestured to the floor and all three teens sat on their knees. Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo took similar positions across the dojo floor. "To begin, we will gauge your current level of skill through one on one sparring. AKANE!"

Akane's back went ramrod straight. "Hai, sensei." Morpheus gestured to the dojo floor and Akane immediately took her place in the center. Morpheus then nodded to Trinity who rose and took her place on the dojo floor opposite Akane. They both bowed toward Morpheus, then to each other before assuming fighting stances.

"This match will be determined by knock out or submission," Morpheus declared as raised his hand into the air. Bringing it down, he shouted, "BEGIN!"

Akane immediately rushed Trinity, coming at her with a flurry of punches. Trinity was initially surprised by the suddenness of the attack, but quickly rebounded after being forced back a few steps. In little time, she was effortlessly blocking all of Akane's punches before she caught one of them and spun Akane around locking her arm behind her back. Akane struggled for several seconds before jumping up and sending her head back to collide with Trinity's nose. This was enough to daze Trinity into releasing her so she could once again turn to face her opponent. Seeing that Trinity was still recovering, Akane immediately launched a flying kick, impacting Trinity's chest and sending her flying back.

Akane's triumphant smile soon faded as she watched Trinity perform an aerial back flip and land on her feet, immediately crouching own to stabilize herself. Trinity lifted her head and eyed Akane from across the dojo. She cocked her head and gave Akane an evil grin. To Akane's astonishment, Trinity stood and came running at her at a full run. Akane braced herself and, when she felt Trinity was in range, launched forward with one her patented high octane punches. She was immediately shocked when she found that her target was no longer in front of her. She was even more shocked as she looked up and saw her opponent gliding over into a forward flip. Before Akane could turn around to counter her, Trinity extended her legs in mid-flip, to connect with Akane's back and send her sliding across the floor of the dojo.

Akane came to a stop when she hit the dojo wall, hitting just hard enough to cause her to take her time in getting up. Looking over to her opponent, she noticed that Trinity had barely broken a sweat while she was struggling to keep her own breathing under control. Seeing Trinity's goading smirk quickly caused Akane's temperature to rise as she felt her anger coming to head. Finally getting to her feet, Akane stared hard across the training hall before charging full speed towards her opponent. When she came in range, Akane quickly launched a double punch following it with a high sweeping kick, which Trinity easily ducked under. Going with the momentum, Akane spun into a leg sweep. When Trinity jumped over this, Akane decided it was time to try something different.

Continuing her spinning motion, Akane once more threw a high kick to Trinity's head. When Trinity ducked under the kick for a second time, she came up prepared to launch a counter-attack. She found herself unable to follow up on her strategy as Akane immediately reversed the direction of her kick, bringing her leg back to connect with Trinity's right ear, knocking her off balanced. Akane probably would have finished the match then if it hadn't been for what she heard next.

During the entire match, Ranma and Ryoga had looked on with a disappointed look as they saw Akane use the same moves over and over, becoming more predictable in her attacks. She surprised them though when she reversed her kick. Ranma, true to form, couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Alright, Akane," he yelled from the sidelines. "You finally look like a real martial artist."

Hearing this, Akane immediately turned to him with a look of murder in her eyes. "Just what is that supposed to mean?" she yelled, momentarily forgetting about her opponent.

"Eyes front, Akane!" Ryoga yelled. He was a second too late with his warning.

Akane turned back toward Trinity and was shocked to find her seemingly suspended in midair. She didn't even have time to bring her arms up before Trinity lashed out with a kick that caught Akane in her chest, sending her flying across the hall and crashing into the far wall. By the time, Akane landed on the floor, she was unconscious.

"Akane!" Ranma cried as he rushed to her side. Upon reaching her, he lifted her into his arms and checked to make sure she was still breathing. Ranma breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Akane's chest rising and falling against his own. He lifted her up and carried her to their side of the dojo where he laid her down between himself and Ryoga.

Ryoga leaned over Akane to see for himself that she was alright and then turned to Ranma. "You do know that you're going to be feeling this as well from her later on."

Ranma blinked to Ryoga, looking puzzled. "Why?" he asked. "What did I do this time?"

"You idiot," Ryoga said, knocking Ranma in the head. "Where do you get off insulting Akane like that!"

Ranma winced as he finally realized what he had said to her. "Maybe she won't remember that part," he thought. Even as he formed the idea in his head he knew that that was wishful thinking at best. He resigned himself to the fact that he would be having an incredible headache from Akane later that night. Ranma just didn't know whether it would be from her fists in the real world or Mallet-sama in the Construct.

Morpheus immediately brought the two young men back to the task at hand with his next words. "That wasn't too bad. Akane did show good improvisation towards the end. It's quite obvious she needs to improve her speed as well as learn to control her temper. If she can learn to do this, then I pity the person who decides to challenge her in the future."

Morpheus stood and walked to the middle of the dojo floor as Trinity resumed her place at Neo's side. He motioned to Ryoga who took a place opposite him. Neo raised his hand. "This match will be as the last one. Winner will be by knock out or submission. BEGIN!"

For a moment nothing happened as both opponents sized the other one up, looking for an opening or hint as to the other's intentions. Finally, Ryoga leapt high into the air and began pulling bandannas from his head, sending them hurling in Morpheus' direction. Morpheus dodged, performing a series of back flips as he studied the attack Ryoga was using. After about a minute of this, he maneuvered himself close in to Ryoga and launched a series of kicks that caught him in the side. Normally, he would have seen his target go skidding across the room, but Ryoga just shrugged off the blow as if he had been hit with a feather. Morpheus was shocked to say the least.

"How are you able to take a shot like that?" he asked, incredulously.

Ryoga merely grinned. "Let's just say I had to toughen up pretty quick when I was learning THIS!. BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" With that, he lunged forward extending his finger to the floor at Morpheus' feet.

Morpheus was rocked backwards as he was pelted with the shrapnel that had once been the dojo floor. He recovered quickly, took a few steps, and then immediately launched a series of punches aimed at Ryoga's chest and face. Ryoga shrugged off each blow as he countered with a fierce roundhouse that Morpheus barely turned aside. He then followed up with a quick one two punch combination that ended with a hard foot sweep. Morpheus, in a desperate gambit, jumped up and over Ryoga, landed lightly behind him, and aimed a spinning kick at the side of Ryoga's head. Sensing this, Ryoga spun on his heel and blocked with a kick of his own then lunged out with a punch that Morpheus easily caught. Ryoga found himself in flight as the momentum of his last attack was used to send him across the room. He quickly twisted his body and managed to tumble to his feet. He looked across the room to see Morpheus with a smirk on his face.

"You're holding back," Morpheus stated. "How can I gauge your true skills if you don't take me seriously?"

Hearing this served only to add fuel to the fury that was brewing inside him. Ryoga charged forward with a rage that shown in his eyes. Reaching Morpheus, Ryoga threw punch after punch at him. Morpheus either dodged or blocked each of these but didn't strike back once. Finally, he locked Ryoga's arms in front of him and gave him a piercing look.

"C'mon, stop trying to hit me and HIT ME!" Morpheus soon came to regret these words as Ryoga broke his hold and nailed him with an uppercut that clicked his teeth and sent him towards the ceiling. Ryoga fell back several steps as he watched Morpheus hit the ground and roll onto his side "Yes!" Morpheus exclaimed as he wiped some blood from his lip "Just like that!"

Ryoga relaxed his stance and gave him a lidded stare that quickly shifted into a feral grin. "Serves you right, you know." His body was shaking as he began to walk off of the mat. He didn't even make it halfway before Morpheus exploded into action. Having caught Ryoga completely off guard with a wide spinning round house that impacted under his shoulder blade, Morpheus came to a stop with his feet straddling Ryoga's torso "I never yielded nor am I anywhere near unconscious."

"I didn't really want to use this, but I guess you've left me no choice," said Ryoga as he managed to hook his legs under Morpheus' arms and pitched him up and back while rising to a seated position. Crossing his arms, in front of him, Ryoga began to think about how he could never see Akari again as well as how Ranma had finally gained Akane's heart. As his soul sank deeper into depression, he drew his heavy ki through his arms, cupped his hands, and extended them forward. "SHI SHI HOKODON!"

Morpheus eyes widened in utter shock as the energy blast shot toward him. It was all he could do to bring his arms across his face in a blocking gesture as he was pushed back into the wall of the dojo. When the blast subsided, a smoking figure slowly emerged from the wall and stepped forward. Morpheus' gi was burned in several places and smoldering all over while he himself was breathing heavily as he managed to get back into a combat stance and face Ryoga, only to find that the young martial artist was rushing towards him in the hopes of finishing the fight with one final punch. Morpheus quickly raised a single hand in front of him.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled. Somehow the force in his voice reached Ryoga, who stopped his punch a mere inch from Morpheus' palm. Ryoga was surprised when Morpheus bowed to him.

"You are full of many surprises, Ryoga. I've never seen attacks like that before," Morpheus stated. "However, you will need to abandon this berserker mentality that you seem to possess, as it will do you more harm than good in the long run. You will need to bring up your speed as well."

Ryoga growled deep in his throat as he heard Morpheus' words. Even though it seemed like he had won his match, he had the suspicion that Morpheus had been holding back the entire time. There was no doubt that he had surprised Morpheus with his special techniques, but he knew that that had been his only advantage. Much as he hated to admit it, Morpheus was right. Ryoga Hibiki still had a lot to learn.

Ryoga walked back over to Ranma and Akane. Akane was still knocked out but was starting to show signs of regaining consciousness. As Ryoga sat down, Ranma gently lifted Akane's head from his lap and laid her down on the dojo floor, making her as comfortable as possible. It was his turn and by process of elimination he knew that he would be fighting Neo.

Neo met him at the center of the dojo floor. From the fights involving Ryoga and Akane, he knew that there was more to these young fighters than met the eye. Neo resolved to himself that he would be ready for any kind of attack that Ranma threw at him.

For his part, Ranma was trying to decide what to make of Neo. If he were to judge from looking at his physical appearance, Ranma would have dismissed Neo as only a midlevel martial artist and fighter. Having been told that Neo was this One person, though, made him think that perhaps he shouldn't underestimate him. He had all the confidence in the world of his own abilities, however. Inwardly, Ranma was looking forward to seeing just how good Neo really was. Ranma began to appraise Neo's apparent skill as he watched the unconscious grace with which he moved. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation as he approached the center of the mat. "Ya know, you don't look half bad, still not as good as me though."

Neo replied with his trademark lopsided grin. "Who knows, I might surprise you. You never truly know somebody until you have fought them."

Ranma tossed back his own grin and said, "That sounds familiar, like something the old ghoul would say."

"Old Ghoul?"

"Just a major pain in my neck."

"I can relate."

There was a loud cough from the side that drew their attention. They turned to see Morpheus baring a stern look on his face. "As entertaining as this exchange may be we are not here to trade life stories. If you would please make ready." As soon as he finished speaking he was pleased as he saw Ranma ease into some type of stance that seemed familiar yet he couldn't place the discipline, and Neo shrugged into one of his favored shotokan phases. "BEGIN!"

Ranma immediately threw his right arm out in a punch but at the last second pulled it back in towards him. As he expected, Neo immediately moved across his body with his arm in order to block the attack and was caught off-balance when he didn't have anything to connect with. Ranma used this to his advantage by placing a well aimed kick to Neo's side. Feeling the impact on his ribs, Neo spun with the momentum and lashed out with his arm, hoping to catch his opponent with a backhand across the face. Sensing his foe's next move, Ranma quickly caught his outstretched arm and wasted no time in giving the source a flying lesson across the room. He watched as Neo twisted his body quickly to recover, landing on his feet.

The opening volleys were more than enough to gather the undivided attention of all of the spectators including Akane who had only just regained consciousness. Now she looked on as she saw Ranma and Neo move around each other in an attempt to find an opening that could be exploited. She watched as Neo finally moved in and began attacking Ranma with a series of blows so fast that he was immediately put on the defensive, forced to block continuously with no opportunity to strike back. The brief interchange ended as Neo fired a punch to the throat of the young man in front of him only to have it caught a mere two inches from his intended strike point. Akane let out a sigh of relief only to have it turn into a gasp of shock as she saw Ranma suddenly reel back, grasping his throat.

"What happened?" she asked Ryoga. "Ranma blocked the attack, didn't he?"

Ryoga shook his head. "Not quite. He caught the punch, but it was close enough for his opponent to extend his fingers and strike his windpipe."

Akane's eyes widened as she turned her focus back to the two combatants. "I wonder if he might actually be able to beat Ranma," she thought.

Out on the dojo floor, the same thought was passing through the mind of the martial artist in question. It had taken Ranma a few moments to recover form the last blow and get his breathing back under control. He looked across the room only to see Neo assume a new fighting stance that appeared to be entirely defensive. His opponent then extended his arm out palm up and, with a smile, curled his fingers up and down beckoning the other combatant. Not one to back down from any kind of challenge, Ranma immediately charged forward. Just as he came into range, though, Neo immediately turned completely around and ran straight for a support beam with Ranma following closely behind. Reaching the beam, Neo shocked the new crewmembers by running up it three steps before he pushed of and sailed over Ranma's head, coming to a landing behind him before delivering a spinning roundhouse aimed for his adversary's head.

Fortunately for Ranma, his instincts kicked in. Rocking back his body, he supported himself on his left arm as he brought his leg straight up along Neo's chest and body, catching him off guard and momentarily stunning him. Pushing himself back up with his arm, he then steeled himself and let out a furious cry.

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Neo fell back as he felt blow after blow impact his chest at speeds so fast that even he couldn't see anything more than a blur. As he was retreating, he looked up just in time to see Ranma soaring towards him with a flying dragon's kick aimed at his torso. This time it was Neo's instincts that saved him as he pivoted and grabbed Ranma's legged and used the momentum to send him flying through the wall of the dojo and out to the yard beyond. Neo paused to catch his breath when he suddenly heard a voice call to him from outside.

"Don't tell me that's all you got. I thought you were supposed to be the One or somethin'."

Not believing what he was hearing, Neo rushed outside to confirm that his ears weren't playing tricks on him. The sight that greeted him was enough to leave him dumbstruck. There was no way it should have been possible, but there in the middle of the yard was Ranma standing confidently in a new battle stance that Neo immediately recognized. It was the exact same one he had just used to goad Ranma into attacking him blindly, right down to the cocky smirk and "come and get me" gesture. Deciding it was finally time to end the battle, Neo rushed in with a furious onslaught of punches and kicks, all of which Ranma danced around effortlessly.

By now, their audience had come out to observe the renewed contest. Morpheus and Trinity stared in fascination at the graceful and fluid motion in which Ranma evaded each one of Neo's strikes, all the while not throwing a single counterattack or offering any resistance. It was almost as if they were watching a violently choreographed dance. Their attention was pulled away from the fight when they heard a gasp from Akane at their side. Turning their heads, they noticed that she and Ryoga were slowly starting to back away towards the safety of the dojo. The two of them had quickly recognized the spiral that Ranma was drawing Neo into

"What are you doing?" Trinity asked them.

"Moving away from ground zero," Akane told her. "You might want to do the same."

Morpheus smiled at her. "We are far enough back to avoid the fight at hand."

"Not for what Ranma is about to do," Akane replied, edging further back.

"And just what is that?"

This time it was Ryoga who answered. "Send Neo into orbit." Morpheus was about to question him further when a battle cry echoed across the yard.

"HIRYU SHOTEN HA!"

Morpheus and Trinity were immediately swept off their feet and thrown back by the violent winds that suddenly assaulted their bodies. Landing hard they looked up and were shocked to see what looked like Neo caught up in a powerful cyclone. As the winds died down, they then looked across the yard to find Ranma standing in the middle of a deep crater, breathing heavily, with his fist held high. Slowly, he lowered his fist and climbed out of the crater and turned to face the spectators. Seeing Akane his face immediately brightened into a triumphant smirk.

"Hey, Akane, what did you think of the flying lesson I gave him?"

Akane merely glared hard at him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Ranma's smile started to fade as he watched her slowly raise her arm and point towards the sky. It was then that he realized that Neo had yet to come tumbling back down to the Earth. Slowly, he lifted his head in the direction that Akane was pointing to. Total disbelief crossed his features as he saw that Neo was now hovering several hundred meters above him.

Neo for his part had been totally taken by surprise by his opponent's last attack. All the time he had been throwing punch after punch at Ranma, he believed that his adversary had at last exhausted all his reserves seeing as how all he was doing was avoiding each blow. Neo never noticed the pattern he had been drawn into until Ranma had shot his arm into the air in a corkscrew manner, somehow creating a powerful vortex that lifted him off his feet and into the air. At first, he had been helpless against he strong winds that had assaulted him, but as they died down, he had been able to regain his focus enough to stabilize himself in midair.

"Whoa," was all he said as he looked down to see Ranma climb out of the crater he had created and yell to Akane. Neo grinned as he saw the smile disappear from Ranma's face when he looked up and discovered Neo's clear defiance of the laws of gravity. Seeing his chance, Neo dove towards the ground.

It was all Ranma could do to dive out of the way of Neo's descent. He felt the explosion behind him as Neo crashed his fist into the ground where he had been standing only moments before. He got on his feet and turned around to find that his opponent had already recovered and was now barreling towards him at inhuman speeds. This time Ranma was a split second to slow in raising his defenses as he was pummeled from all sides by a flurry of punches and kicks, the last of which sent him flying back. He was in the process of rolling his body to absorb the fall when he realized with horror just how accurate this recreation of the Tendo compound really was. With a resigned sigh, he splashed head first into the koi pond and went under.

Neo calmly walked over to the pond and leaned over. At first all he saw was a trail of bubbles that slowly died away. He was about to reach in to fish Ranma out when he was suddenly propelled up and back by a furious uppercut. After landing, he sat up and began rubbing his jaw. A second later that same jaw, as well as everyone else's, dropped when he saw a petite but gorgeous red head pull herself out of the pond.

"WHATCHA DO THAT FOR, YOU JERK!" Ranma-chan screamed.

Neo didn't have a chance to answer as he was suddenly assaulted by his now female opponent. He soon realized that there was not as much power behind the blows, but that was more than made up for by the increased speed and agility that Ranma seemed to possess in this form. Neo soon determined that he needed to back away from this girl and come up with a new strategy. He was about to attempt to push Ranma-chan back so that he could have some room when she suddenly performed a flying back flip and landed several meters away. He stared dumbfounded as the air around Ranma-chan seemed to warp and melt into her. Light began to coalesce into the visible spectrum as her battle aura flared. Ranma-chan shifted her stance as she brought her most effective weapon to the fore.

"EAT THIS! MOKO TAKABISHA!"

Neo was barely able to bring his arms up to block in time as a huge gout of golden energy lanced towards him. Despite his guard being effectively in place, he felt himself being pushed back several meters, leaving deep rents in the ground as the attack neared its peak. Squaring his shoulders he used his intrinsic knowledge of the Matrix and what it was to wrap several layers of perception around himself and cancel out the attack warping the landscape as he did so.

"What the hell!" Ranma-chan exclaimed "It's never been that weak before."

"RANMA NO BAKA!" Groused Akane from the sidelines. "You've never used that as a girl before!"

"Whatever." Ranma-chan said as she turned to face Neo who was still smoldering somewhat "Hey you! It's time to finish this."

Neo smiled and retorted. "I quite agree."

They rushed at one another, each with the intent of being the last man standing.

Ranma-chan launched her self into a flying kick aimed at the side of Neo's face while she saw her opponent rushing in preparing what appeared to be one helluva haymaker. She cried out in triumph as she saw her kick connect, but her glee was short lived as she saw the fist she was sure she had avoided come screaming at her face. Time seemed to slow down as she voiced the expression riding on the forefront of both of their minds.

"Oh shit!"

Time resumed at it normal unstoppable pace or maybe even a little faster as both combatants rocketed away from each other. Neo flew past his comrades to impact the side of the oft abused Tendo dojo. Ranma-chan, meanwhile, was not so lucky as she bounced off the ground and careened into the large unforgiving concrete wall that surrounded what she had for so long called her home.

The combatant's respective colleagues rushed to their sides. Akane with a surprising burst of speed made it to Ranma's side first, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Ranma you big jerk, why'd you have to go and show off like that? You could've been killed!"

Ranma-chan sat up with a grimace, spat out some blood, and wiped the remainder off her chin "Awww geez Akane, t'wasn't nuthin' I couldn't handle," she said as she wiped the tears off of Akane's face.

"But still," Akane managed to sniffle out, "I was worried about you. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Never been better." Ranma-chan replied as she stood only to swoon and land back on her rump seconds later. "On second thought, I think I'll stay down here for a minute."

"That was most impressive," they heard Morpheus say as he walked towards them. Looking beyond, they saw Trinity administering to Neo who was just coming to himself.

Morpheus drew their attention back to himself. "We will give you time to recover and then proceed with teaching you any remaining fighting styles you do not yet know."

"Wait a minute," Ranma-chan yelled. "You don't mean that you're gonna pump all these styles straight into our heads, do you?"

Morpheus nodded. "That is how we usually do things. You have an objection?"

"Course' I do. That ain't no way to learn the Art. I mean sure it'll give you the basics an' stuff but it ain't gonna teach you the spirit of the Art."

"I must admit I never have thought about it that way before. What about the rest of you?" Morpheus asked, looking at the other two teenagers. "Do you feel the same way?"

Akane and Ryoga looked at each other and nodded. They then turned back to Morpheus and the looks they had on their faces revealed their feelings on the subject.

"Ranma's right," Ryoga said. "The only way to truly know a martial art is to learn it through experience."

"Very well then," Morpheus stated. "As it so happens we do have another way of teaching you. It's not as efficient as the upload, but it is faster than doing it myself. If you would all follow me, please."

The three youths got up, albeit shakily, and slowly followed Morpheus across the yard and back into the dojo. They were amazed to find that all the damage that had been caused by the fights was now nonexistent. Morpheus halted them in the center of the dojo then walked over to join Trinity and Neo off to the side. He turned to face Ranma and the others.

"We shall take our leave of you for now. Your sensei will be with you momentarily."

"See you at lunch," Neo said as he, Trinity and Morpheus disappeared from the room.

Ranma, Akane, Ryoga just stared at the space where the three had been and were trying to decide what to do next when another image suddenly appeared in front of them. It took the shape of an elderly gentleman wearing glasses and grey and white priest robes, his long grey hair tied back into a ponytail that reached the floor. He looked over at his new students and smiled.

"Good morning. My name is Katsuhito 2.0 and I will be your combat instructor. First we will begin with Aikido…

* * *

"Are you okay?" Trinity asked Neo as she moved out of her chair to come beside him.

"Yeah, great if you don't count the fact that I feel like I just went ten rounds with about fifty or so Agents. That Ranma packs one hell of a punch." Neo eased out of his chair and started walking around despite the soreness of his body. He stopped when he saw Link come up to them.

"I just got a call from the _Argos_. They're about ten minutes away." Link paused to look at the three teens still plugged into the Construct. "Patch said he has a new crew member for us."

Morpheus looked confused. "I didn't approve any new transfers to my ship."

"Actually this was kinda my doing, Morpheus," Trinity answered. "It's not official unless you sign off on it, but I don't think you'll object when you see who it is."

"Very well," Morpheus sighed. "Link, keep an eye on our new recruits here. We'll be back soon."

Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo walked aft to the hatch leading to the outside. By the time they got down the ramp, the _Argos_ had already arrived and opened her own hatch to reveal Captain Patch as he walked out to greet them. His wounds from his ship's encounter with Ryoga had begun to heal, but some of the damage was still evident. The two captains met and shook hands.

"How are you feeling, Patch?" Morpheus asked.

"Well, I'm still a little sore when I wake up in the morning, but aside from that, I'm getting better. How's the training going?"

"They're going through the combat training as we speak. We are actually using the AI program this time."

"You're kidding. I've never known anybody to ever do that before. Why now?"

"They insisted. Ranma said something about not being able to truly know the Art unless you go through it first hand. I admit he's got a point, in a philosophical sense.

"Maybe. Link said something was up and you needed our help again."

"Well, I received a message from the Oracle. Our new recruits are going to see her tomorrow," Morpheus answered. He looked around and saw Trinity waiting by the ramp to the _Argos_. He also noticed the grin on her face as someone came down the ramp. Trinity immediately wrapped the new arrival in an embrace. "Who's that?"

Patch looked over to the ramp and smiled. "That's your new transfer. Come on, I'll introduce you."

An introduction turned out to be unnecessary when Morpheus was finally able to get a look at the face of the new arrival. His face immediately turned to shock as he mumbled, "I don't believe it."

* * *

Two hours later, Morpheus and the others began unplugging their newest recruits. All three hobbled uneasily from their chairs. As Ryoga looked on, Neo and Trinity helped Ranma and Akane out of the room towards the mess hall. He looked over to Morpheus and shrugged.

"So uh, I guess I'm stuck with you."

"Actually, I'm handing you over to someone else," Morpheus stated with a grin.

Ryoga was confused. "Who? You mean Link?"

"Not quite." Morpheus let his gaze shift as he noted the person coming up behind Ryoga. Seeing this Ryoga followed his eyes and turned around. What he saw caused him to go pale.

"Ryoga, don't you know you can always lean on me?"

"A-Akari?" With that, Ryoga promptly fainted.

END CHAPTER 3

OK OK I know it's another short chapter. I was going to write more. I swear it. You gotta believe me.

Anyway the reason for this is quite simple. I just got tired of all the people begging for the fight scenes especially between Neo and Ranma. BesidesI really couldn't think of a better place to stop than having Ryoga pass out from shock.

Seeing as how I already had things written out farther beyond this I hope to have the next installment done soon, but for now I am taking a few days off. I have the wonderful opportunity to visit Hong Kong for a few days and there's no way I am passing it up. I mean come on I haven't been here since I was eight.

I must say that there is no way that this would ever have gotten done if not for the great help I have gotten from A. Harnum. Without him I don't think I could have gotten the last part of Ranma's fight done. I doth take my hat off to you, sir. AND I AM NOT A LITTLE RUDDLING.

Thanks to all those who have sent in reviews. It makes me proud to see thatI have been keeping people intrigued in this story to the point that you are all trying to guess what happens. Bet you never expected Akari to have already been unplugged long ago.

The only problem I now have is that I am down to only one prereader left as mt others have gone on to other projects. In other words: HHHEEEEELLLLPPPPPP!

AnywhoTTFN and keep on reading.


	4. Old Friends and New Lessons

AWWWW Do I have to say it again? Everybody already knows I didn't create these people or make no money off of this. Alright,alright. I'll tell them. OH HEH HEH I guess I already did

RANMA UNPLUGGED

Ch. 4: Old Friends and New Lessons

"You certainly seem to be in a good mood right now, Trinity," Ranma remarked as he choked down another spoonful of the concoction in front of him. He was still having a hard time thinking of the stuff as food. At least he had learned not to compare it to Akane's previous attempts at cooking. Of course, he had learned that the hard way.

Trinity looked at him, the grin still held on her face. She just couldn't help it. It was nice enough to have her best friend on board as a new crew member, but the added knowledge that it meant that Akari and Ryoga were going to have a chance at true happiness made it impossible to wear any other expression. She turned to Akane as she spoke in her direction.

"C'mon, Trin. Let the rest of us in on it. After all that training we've been going through, Ranma, Ryoga, and me could use a good laugh."

"Speaking of Ryoga," Ranma stated as he looked around the mess hall, "where is he, anyway? He couldn't have gotten lost. Even if he had that problem in the real world, Morpheus could lead him here."

Neo was the one who answered seeing as how Trinity had just burst into a fit of chuckles that kept her from speaking up. "He should be here any minute now. Morpheus was introducing him to our newest crewmember after we left."

"A new crewmember?" Akane asked. "Who is it?" She didn't noticed Ranma's pale face as the door opened behind her and admitted the person in question.

"It's me," a familiar voice piped up.

At first, Akane thought she must be hearing things. She knew the voice that had just spoken, but it just wasn't possible. This was the real world, not the Matrix. There's no way that she could be here. That's when Akane finally noticed Ranma's expression. The shock and disbelief that she saw on his face slowly began to find its way on her own face. Slowly she turned to face the person behind her.

"AKANE!" Akari yelled with glee as she left Ryoga's side to embrace her friend in a fierce hug. "I just knew you'd be here, too."

"A-Akari?" Akane stammered as she slowly returned the hug. "What… How… I mean when were you…" She just couldn't seem to get any words out.

"Unplugged?" Akari finished for her as she stepped back and look at her friend. Akane nodded slowly. "The truth is I've been out for quite a few years."

"A few years?" Ranma repeated, not quite believing his ears. "But all those times back in Japan. Are you saying you weren't part of the system?"

"That's right. It's kind of a long story."

"Which I think it is time for everyone to hear," Morpheus said as he entered the already cramped room. Seeing as how there were no more seats available, he leaned against the wall next to the door. Akari, meanwhile, had taken a position next to Ryoga who was looking somewhat nervous. It was a look Ranma didn't fail to notice.

"Guess Ryoga still has a problem with his shyness," he thought. "Doesn't seem to be as bad as it was before. I mean back home, he'd be a quivering mess by now."

Akane had also noted Ryoga's expression and had thoughts of her own on the subject.

"I hope Akari can snap him out of it," she said to herself. "They both really do deserve to be happy."

Ryoga, as it turned out, was having a bit of a war inside his mind.

"What do I do now? I really never expected to see her again and I've been trying really hard to forget about her. I mean, Akari really is a nice girl and I like her a lot but I don't know if it's love. Oh what am I going to do?"

"We'll just take it one step at a time, Ryo-chan," Akari told him, smiling sweetly. "I care a lot about you and have waited this long anyway."

"Huh?" was all Ryoga was able to say as he finally realized he had been speaking out loud. His knees began to go weak until he finally succumbed and slumped to the floor. Akari knelt down with him and supported him so that he wouldn't hurt himself. All this time, she couldn't help but keep a small grin on her face.

"I guess you're not too different than you were inside," she whispered. "And for that I am thankful."

Morpheus cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention. "I'm afraid we don't have a lot of time before we move on to your final two lessons. That being the case, we will try to explain his as quickly as possible." He motioned to Trinity who picked up the tale.

"I guess it's been about four years now. Back then I was temporarily assigned to another ship for an extraction. I wasn't told why until I got there. The ship turned out to have an all-male crew and since the person they wanted to pull out was a girl, it was decided that a woman with experience in the Matrix was needed. Our ship was the closest one to them and I drew the assignment.

"When I got there I was told about the target. It seemed this girl was living in a very isolated part of Japan on her family's farm. All she knew of life was raising pigs. Even though she didn't know anything else of life outside how she had been raised, somehow she knew that there was something wrong with the world. I guess even she was able to determine that pigs were not supposed to know how to do sumo or that her grandfather always seemed to be near death but just wouldn't pass on."

"So that girl was Akari?" Ryoga asked. He felt her squeeze his hand gently and turned to see her smiling at him.

"That's right," Akari told him. "One day I got a message advertising a sumo pig grand championship. Of course, I was honor-bound to go. That's when I met Trinity and she told me about the Matrix. It wasn't a very easy decision, but there really just wasn't anything to keep me there. So I went with her."

"During her training, Akari showed great promise in both computer programming and weapons training. So much so that an exception was made and she was allowed to join a ship's crew when she was just fifteen." Trinity paused to take a drink at which point Morpheus picked up the story.

"By then, her ship had begun receiving reports from inside the Matrix concerning a group of highly skilled martial artists within a prefecture of Japan. This informant passed along the machine's suspicions concerning this group and the Prophecy. He made particular mention of the conflicting love interests that were preventing the finalization of the marriage agreement. While nothing could be done about Ranma's fiancés, a plan was formed to at least provide a possible alternative for one of Akane's love interests."

By now Ryoga's anger was beginning to rise. Moving away from Akari with a speed that surprised even Ranma, he was suddenly in front of Morpheus with an arm across his throat. His fangs were bared so that Morpheus had no doubt as to how sharp they really were. "Are you saying you set me up to fall in love with someone who had no real feelings for me at all?" he growled. "It was all just an act?" He started as he felt a small hand grip his shoulder. Turning his head, he found himself staring into Akari's tear-filled eyes.

"Please, Ryo-chan, let me finish," she choked. Her hand was shaking on his shoulder and her voice trembled as she spoke. Ryoga looked over to Akane and Ranma, who at first had been preparing to jump at the remaining crew members as a means of venting the rage they felt at the pain their friend had been caused. Now, however, as they saw Akari's face filled with sadness, they decided to hear the rest of what she had to say. Akane met Ryoga's eyes and slowly nodded. Reluctantly, Ryoga moved away from Morpheus and joined his friends at the table. Akari moved to join them only to freeze when they all shot her a hostile glare. Akari was barely able to keep her voice under control enough to continue her story.

"At first, that was how I felt. You were just a mission." She flinched as the glares became even more harsh. Lowering her head, she continued. "But as time went by, I began to get to know you and grow closer to you. Then one day I realized that I had done the one thing that I had been told I couldn't let happen." She paused as she lifted her head to look Ryoga in his eyes.

"Ryoga, I really did fall in love with you."

For a while, silence filled the room. Finally, Ryoga stood up and slowly walked to the door. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be returning to the control room for the next training program," he said as he opened the door. He didn't get any farther because Morpheus forcefully pushed the door closed and moved to block his path.

"You, young man, are going to sit down and hear the last of what this girl has to say." Morpheus locked his eyes with Ryoga's in a look that clearly he would tolerate neither argument nor disobedience. Ryoga met his stare, but then slowly returned to his place between Ranma and Akane.

"After Neo was pulled out and revealed to be the One we had all been searching for, the mission was terminated. When my captain told me, I ran off the control deck and locked myself in my room for three days. My only contact with anyone was our operator when he brought me some food and made me eat. His name was Hardline." Akari's words were slow and soft as she released all her emotion when she spoke. "At first, I wouldn't say anything to anyone, but then he started to get me to open up. I told him about how I had fallen in love with you, Ryoga, and how it broke my heart that I couldn't see you again. He could see on my face how I had been crying myself to sleep every night. After a while he came to me with an offer.

"He began scanning the Matrix for Ryoga any chance he got. Whenever you finally found your way near the farm, he would come get me and send me into the system. It was only a few short times, but, for me, just being with my Ryo-chan was worth it. That went on up until two weeks ago." She turned to Ryoga.

"Do you remember what happened the last time we got together? How our date ended?"

Ryoga thought back to the last time he had been with Akari. It took him a few minutes since he was still sorting through the emotional war that was going on inside of him.

"Some guy came up to us when we were walking in the park. He said your grandfather had taken a turn for the worst and he was sent to take you to him right away. You had such a hurt look on your face I didn't argue even when the guy said I couldn't go with you."

Tears were starting anew on Akari's face as she shook her head. "That guy was my captain back in the real world. He had gotten suspicious of all the time I was supposedly spending in the Construct. Finally he was able to get a look at what exactly it was I was really doing. Both Hardline and I were expelled from the crew and sent back to Zion. I didn't know what I was going to do. No other ship would take us. Then the other day, Captain Patch came to me with Trinity's message and invitation to join this crew."

Akari looked at Trinity who was beaming at her despite her own tears over her story. She had known only a little about what had happened to her, but not all the details. Now Trinity found herself wondering if there was anything she could do for Akari's friend, Hardline. She looked to Morpheus who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't know how happy I was to hear that you had been freed, Ryo-chan," Akari cried. "And then to be able to join the same ship you were on, it's like a dream come true for me. Please don't let that dream turn into a nightmare." She looked up to see Ryoga staring at the floor. Finally he got up and slowly walked to the door. When he got there, he stopped and turned towards Akari.

"I need some time to think about all this." With those words, he opened the hatch and left. Morpheus went to the door and called out after him.

"Be in the control room in thirty minutes. We still have two more training programs to run before we make preparations to take you to see the Oracle." All he got for a response from Ryoga was hand wave in his direction. Morpheus sighed as he turned back to the mess hall.

Akari was sitting in the middle of the floor with her face in her hands, still sobbing despite the fact that she had no more tears to shed. Trinity moved to her side in order to offer her friend some comfort when Morpheus spoke to her.

"Trinity, I need you and Neo to help me prepare for the next training program." Neo moved to Trinity's side and took her hand.

"What about Akari, Morpheus?" Trinity asked. Understandably, she was most reluctant to leave her friend in such a state.

"I'll be alright, Trin," Akari whispered. Trinity knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure?"

"I think so. Besides I'd like to talk to Akane and Ranma for a little bit." Akari lifted her head and looked at the young couple with red eyes. She felt some hope when she saw that Akane's eyes were also wet with tears. Maybe they wouldn't hate her, after all.

Trinity looked and saw the looks as well. Finally, she rose and followed Neo and Morpheus out of the mess hall. Just before she disappeared down the hall, she turned back to them. "Just remember to have them in the control room in half an hour." She left when she saw Akari nod in acknowledgement.

As she walked down the passageways towards the control room, Trinity whispered a prayer for her friend. When she finally caught up to the others, she was surprised to see that Ryoga was already plugged in.

"What's he doing in there, Link?" she asked.

"Making gravel out of a lot of boulders," Link replied. "He came in here about ten minutes ago and jumped in a chair, demanding to be put in a mountain setting. When I asked him why, he said something about preferring to tear apart something virtual rather than something on the ship that might be important." They all watched on the screen as Ryoga yelled and thrust his finger into yet another boulder, sending shrapnel flying in every direction. After watching for another ten minutes, Trinity decided that she had had enough. Before anyone could say anything, she climbed into another chair. Morpheus moved to stand beside her.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" he asked.

"I'm going in there to try and talk some sense into him. Akari is my friend and I'm not going to let her go through this heartache again. Especially when he's actually here and it IS possible for them to be together."

"Ryoga has a very valid reason for feeling the way he does. No matter what the end result ultimately turned out to be, we had no right to play with his emotions like that."

"Damn it, Morpheus. He's not the only one who got hurt in this. Akari gave up everything she worked for because she fell in love with him. When she was sent back to Zion, she was ready to give up on everything. I'll burn in hell before I see that happen again." She lay back in the chair, but when nobody plugged her in she sat up again. "Are you going to load me up or what?"

Morpheus sighed as he set up the terminal. Finally, he turned to Trinity and jacked her in.

* * *

Back in the mess hall, Akari finally stopped crying and picked herself up off of the floor. Numbly, she turned to face Ranma and Akane, the fear evident on her face. She was sure she had already lost the love of the one who held her heart. The last thing she needed was to lose her friends as well. 

"I guess you hate me, too," she said though it was difficult to hear her. Her voice was trembling that much. When she didn't get a response, Akari lowered her head and turned toward the door. She made it halfway when she was stopped by a hand being placed on her shoulder. Slowly, she turned until she found herself looking into Akane's eyes.

"Akari, we don't hate you, but you have to understand that Ryoga is our friend and, no matter how you really feel about him now, what you did wasn't right. It wasn't fair to him to have his emotions played with like that. What would have happened if you hadn't fallen in love with him and simply left when your mission was over? Did you ever really think of that?"

Akari sighed and closed her eyes. "At first, I was too excited about my first mission to really think about it. Later on it troubled me a little, but then I started to get to know him and really care about him. When I realized that I had actually fallen in love with him, I didn't know what I was going to do. I knew that sooner or later I was going to have to leave. I even thought about making plans to pull him out myself, but I didn't have enough time."

Akari paused and wiped the tears that had returned to her eyes. Suddenly she collapsed as her legs weakened. Akane was momentarily surprised but recovered quickly enough to catch her in a hug and gently ease her to her knees. That's when the sobs came back full force.

"Oh, Akane, I really do love him," Akari cried. "I love him with all my heart and soul."

Akane let Akari cry on her shoulder for a while as Ranma came to sit down beside her and place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Finally, after Akari had settled down slightly, Akane eased her back so that she could look into her friend's eyes. She raised her hand and gently wiped away some of the streaks on Akari's face.

"We're not the ones you need to be telling this to, you know. If you really feel this way, you have to let Ryoga know. Otherwise, all you will do is cause more pain and suffering for the both of you. Trust me, I know this from experience." As Akane said this, she felt Ranma's hand softly caress the back of her head.

"But Ryo-chan won't even listen to me now," Akari cried. "He hates me for what I've done."

This time it was Ranma who spoke to her. "Ryoga is angry about what happened, that's true, but I'm sure he doesn't hate you. I don't think he's got it in him to hate anyone. He is going to need some time, though."

"Tell you what," Akane told her. "If you want, we'll talk to him first and calm him down."

"But what can I say to him so that he will believe me?" Akari asked them.

"The truth. Just the whole, bitter truth," Ranma told her as he helped Akari to her feet.

Akari looked at both of them and finally let a smile creep onto her face. She suddenly leaped forward and held both of them in a fierce hug. "Thank you so much. You guys are the best."

After she finally let go, Ranma looked at both the ladies. "C'mon. It's about time for us to get back to the control room."

* * *

When the three friends arrived in the control room, the first thing they noted was the troubled look on Morpheus' and Neo's face. The second thing they realized was that both Trinity and Ryoga were plugged into the Construct. As Akari moved to the screen the two veteran crew members were watching, she felt a ball of ice form in the pit of her stomach. Without having seen what was going on, she knew two things: it wasn't good and her story had caused it. Worriedly, she peered between Neo and Morpheus at the screen. What she saw did nothing to alleviate her fears. 

A rugged mountain scene was the backdrop for the program being run. At least that's what it had started as. Now it seemed more like a rock quarry was all that remained. Within this setting, two figures were squaring off amidst the rubble. All of the assembled crew watched as both combatants circles each other, breathing heavily. Once in a while, either Ryoga or Trinity would begin shouting only to have the other respond in kind before launching another attack. No one could tell what was being said as there was no sound coming from the display.

"Why can't we hear what they're saying?" Akari asked, nervously.

"Are you kidding?" Link asked, astonished. "Between the arguments, Ryoga's battlecries, and the ensuing destruction of the attacks, they were threatening to blow out all of the speakers."

"Don't you have sound dampeners you can turn on or something?" Akane asked.

"That IS with the sound dampeners turned on," Morpheus answered.

Akari continued to watch with a growing look of concern on her face. She knew that Trinity felt she was acting in her best interest, but she didn't want things to be any worse than they already were between her and Ryoga. It was going to be hard enough as it was to prove to him how she really felt about him.

"How long have they been at this?" Ranma asked, bring Akari out of her thoughts.

"About twenty minutes. That's not counting the ten minutes before Trinity went in when your friend turned the American Rocky Mountains into rubble."

"Should we go in and stop them?" Akane wondered.

"Do you have a death wish?" Neo asked

"So what are we going to do?"

Morpheus smiled. "Don't worry. Knowing Trinity, this won't be going on much longer."

Everybody turned back toward the screen as Ryoga launched another ki blast.

* * *

Trinity quickly dove to her right as the ball of energy rushed past where she had been standing. She was beginning to wonder if there was any way to get through the rage that Ryoga was venting and make him hear her out. She quickly regained her footing and turned to face the young man who was literally tearing apart the landscape. 

"Why can't you just calm down and listen to me?" she yelled at him. Ryoga merely came flying at her with his finger extended, causing Trinity to once more dodge out of his path. It didn't stop her from getting hit by the debris that was sent flying from the point of impact, however. Bits of rock cut into her face and arms as she tried to shield herself.

"Why should I listen to you?" Ryoga demanded. He pivoted to face her once again as he fell back into another fighting stance. "You knew what she did to me. You knew how much she meant to me."

Trinity was thinking fast. She knew she was at the end of her limits. She also knew that if she didn't get to hear her out, then Akari would have no chance of restoring the love she had shared with him. Looking across at Ryoga, Trinity saw in his eyes the desperation and fear of loneliness that he was hiding behind his anger. For a brief moment, she thought to use this to her advantage before she discarded the notion. It would just give him more fuel for his Shi Shi Hokodan blast. Knowing she had to stall him, she charged blindly in an attempt to throw him off guard.

Ryoga watched as Trinity came rushing towards him. Instead of trying to dodge or block the blow he knew was coming, he simply stood there and prepared to absorb it. He was more than confident that he could take anything she threw his way. Of course, he was expecting to be hit in his chest or face. Unfortunately for him, Trinity's aim was focused at a slightly lower level.

* * *

Everybody watching the screen winced noticeably as Trinity delivered her kick. Akari's hand immediately covered her mouth as her face reddened. She was definitely not pleased at the target point. 

"I don't think even Ryoga will be able to shrug that one off," Ranma muttered. He was proven correct when Ryoga immediately dropped to his knees and rolled to his side.

* * *

"I trust that I have your attention now," Trinity remarked as she took a seat on the last intact boulder that was around. She smirked as she watched Ryoga roll around, both of his hands clasped between his legs. He was still struggling to catch his breath. 

"You know, somehow, I don't think Akari would appreciate what you just did." Ryoga's voice was still strained for the obvious reason.

"I thought you didn't care about how she felt anymore."

Ryoga had managed to recover enough by now to rise to his knees. "That's right. Why would I care about her? She betrayed my trust." Ryoga raised his head as he said this only to be surprised to find Trinity a mere inch away, a glare boring into his eyes.

"You mean like you did to Akane as P-chan?"

Ryoga blanched at Trinity's words as he opened his mouth to retort. However, nothing came out except sputtering. Finally, he hung his head and sighed. Trinity lifted his head up and looked into his eyes once more.

"Akane was able to forgive you. Can't you at least be willing to hear Akari out? I think you might be surprised to find out exactly what she went through for you."

"I'll hear what she has to say. Beyond that I can't promise anything else."

Trinity stood up and offered a hand to Ryoga. The once eternal Lost Boy accepted it and rose to his feet, albeit slightly slower than normal.

"That's good enough. C'mon, it's time to get back so they can prepare the next training program."

* * *

Ryoga opened his eyes and sat up in the chair. He didn't get too far before the pain between his legs forced him to lie down again. Morpheus came up beside him and grimaced in sympathy. Ryoga merely groaned. 

"I know, I know. Your mind makes it real," he said as he turned his head. Ranma and Akane were climbing into their chairs as Trinity and Neo prepared the next program. His attention was grabbed a moment later when he felt a small hand gently take his own. Turning towards the gesture, Ryoga found himself staring into Akari's eyes. She moved her hand up to touch his cheek, but shuddered when Ryoga intercepted it. She stared at him as her eyes watered.

Ryoga sighed as he brought Akari's hand down. Though he was still hurt, he couldn't bear to see the tears he knew was coming. Finally he spoke to her.

"Akari, I'm still hurting right now, but I promised Trinity that I would hear you out." Ryoga's mood lightened somewhat as he saw the small smile appear on her face. "It's going to take some time, though."

"That will have to come later, though," Morpheus said as he walked over to Ryoga's chair. "For now, why don't you take one of the remaining chairs, Akari?"

Akari let go of Ryoga's hand in shock. "I don't understand. I've already been through all the training."

"I didn't say you needed any training. I just thought you might wish to help with the final two programs," Morpheus said with a wink.

For a moment, Akari looked confused, but slowly it dawned on her what Morpheus had planned. She giggled at the thought of not only Ryoga's but Ranma's reaction as well at what they were about to see. With a leap in her step, she left behind a confused Ryoga as she climbed into one of the last chairs.

Ryoga looked at Morpheus with a wary look on his face he watched him get into the final chair. Morpheus, for his part, merely gave Ryoga a wicked grin as he rested his head against the rest. His mind was brought back into focus as Trinity came up behind him and jacked him in.

* * *

Ryoga opened his eyes and looked around him. He found himself and the others atop the roof of a large building in the middle of a sprawling city. As he took stock of his surroundings, he found that not only had Akane opted for her new look in clothing but Ranma had also chosen new attire. He now sported a black, sleeveless silk shirt that was similar to the red Chinese shirt he had always worn back in Nerima. Embroidered on the left front side of the shirt in gold thread was the head of a great dragon. From the look of it, the neck traversed over Ranma's left shoulder to join its body on his back. His black pants were made of stiff cotton that, while tight fitting to provide little chance of obstruction, was loose enough to allow freedom of movement. Ranma hid his eyes behind two small rectangular lenses supported across the tops by a simple wire framing. A pair of simple kung fu shoes completed his outfit. 

Ranma stood next to Akane who had added a long flowing trench coat to her ensemble to better hide her sidearms. At the moment she was inspecting each one of the desert eagles, making sure that they functioned correctly and were in fact fully loaded. Akari came up to her and giggled at her actions.

"There's really no reason to do that, you know," she told Akane. "I mean they're virtual. No matter how many times you use them, whenever you enter the Matrix, they'll always work and be loaded."

Akane smiled as she reholstered her weapons. "One of things that my dad taught me as a martial artist is that you can never take anything for granted. Just because something is there one day, that doesn't mean it will be there the next."

"A good philosophy, indeed," Morpheus stated from behind them, causing the entire group to jump.

"You know, that is really getting annoying, Morpheus," Ryoga growled as his heart rate came back down to a normal level.

"Think of it as a way to teach you to be more alert to your surroundings." Morpheus smiled as he looked over Ryoga's appearance. "I am curious as to why you have not yet chosen a new style for yourself as your friends have. Even Akari has adopted a new look for herself."

Ryoga turned to Akari and appraised her as he noticed her choice of clothing for the first time. She was sporting a tight fitting sweater that hugged her curves in a way that left no doubt in Ryoga's mind that she was not a cute girl but a beautiful woman. This was further accented by the tight black leather miniskirt she wore. It fell to just above mid thigh in a way that drew the casual observer's eye straight to her smooth and delicate legs. The only thing that told of the innocence she once projected was a pair of black knee-high stockings and patent-leather schoolgirl shoes. All-in-all, it was an outfit that put out the image of a delicate flower, but one full of a hidden potential.

Finally, Ryoga shrugged and closed his eyes. Concentrating on what he felt would be comfortable to him, he felt a tingle all over his body. When it subsided he opened his eyes and looked down. His fangs poked out as he grinned at the final product. Gone were his usual yellow shirt and green workout pants. Now he wore a tight black muscle shirt that fit its name perfectly. A comfortable pair of black denim jeans covered his lower body and on hi feet he wore a simple pair of steel-toed boots. He finished his new look with a leather motorcycle jacket and ray-ban sunglasses.

"How's this?" He asked the group in front of him as he tightened the knot on his trademark bandana. Looking around at the reactions he got merely made him broaden his grin, especially with the way the two ladies were looking at him. Akane's mouth was hanging open, and, if Ryoga wasn't mistaken, a small amount of drool was slowly forming down her chin. Ryoga noticed that Ranma had a slight glare on his face as he saw Akane's reaction. He laughed and gave Ranma a quick wink as he turned to take in Akari's opinion of his new wardrobe.

To say that Akari was speechless was to say that Genma was never more than just slightly hungry. Her eyes were wide as she digested the image that was in front of her. She had always known that Ryoga kept himself in ideal shape through his martial arts, but she had never known just how toned his body was. On the few occasions, she and Ryoga had been together on their dates, he had always been too shy to really do anything intimate. Looking at him now only served to deepen the attraction she felt towards him.

"I take it you approve?" Ryoga asked her. Akari could only bring herself to nod slowly.

"Now that that is out of the way, it is time to continue to our next lesson," Morpheus said as he drew their attention back to the task at hand. All followed him as he walked to the edge of the roof and peered down. Everyone save for Akari followed his gaze and gasped as they realized for the first time just how high up they were.

"We must be twenty stories up," Akane cried.

Morpheus smiled. "Actually, it's twenty-five," he replied as he took a several steps away from the edge. "I told you earlier that the hardest part about making the transition from the Matrix to the real world is letting go. That means more than just letting go of your past. You must also learn to allow your mind to let go of all the rules that you lived with. Rules like gravity, for instance." With those word said, he surprised them all by charging towards the end of the roof and leaping into the air. Instead of falling to the street below, as was to be expected, he landed gracefully on the rooftop of another building three blocks away.

Pulling himself to his feet, Morpheus turned to yell at the others to join him. Before he could say anything, however, he found himself face to face with both Ranma and Ryoga, each with a sly look on his face. Morpheus looked at both of them and grinned.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised after seeing what you were capable of during your sparring matches. Now it's time for the ladies to join us."

Ranma looked at Ryoga and then nervously turned back to Morpheus. "There's no way that they can make that jump. I mean Akane's been trained in the Art, but she never progressed to roof jumping like me and Ryoga have."

Ryoga nodded. "And if Akane can't do it then I don't see how Akari could. She's not even a martial artist."

Morpheus grinned. "What did I tell you about letting go with your mind? Martial arts has nothing to do with it." Turning back towards the other building, he waved his arm high in the air.

On the roof of the first building, Akari caught Morpheus' signal and turned towards Akane. "That's our cue, girl."

Akane just turned to her in shock. "You can't be serious. I'm a martial artist and I can't even make that jump. If I can't then I don't see how you possibly could."

"It's simple. I know I can make it because I believe I can. See you on the other side."

Before Akane could respond, Akari turned and dashed off the roof. Pushing off the edge, she soared high into the air, coming down on the opposite building much to the disbelief of Ranma and especially Ryoga. Standing up, she dusted herself off and moved to stand beside the man she loved.

"Impressed?" she asked Ryoga. This time it was Ryoga's turn to nod numbly. He was brought out of his stupor when he heard Ranma's voice.

"Looks like Akane's getting ready to go for it. I hope she knows what she's doing."

"If not," Morpheus replied, "it's a long way down."

All four watched as Akane's face grew stern with concentration as she focused her thoughts on the challenge in front of her. Finally she made a mad dash and pushed off, soaring into the sky. For a while it seemed like she was going to make it.

Akane was overcome with joy as she watched the buildings pass below her. "I'm doing it," she thought to herself. "I'm actually doing it. This is great. I just can't believe it." No sooner had those words entered her mind did she find that her forward momentum had slowed. She cried out in alarm when she finally realized she was going to fall short of her goal. Her scream got louder as she fell to the street below.

Hearing Akane's scream, Ranma prepared to dive after her. Just when he was about to leap off the roof, he felt himself being pulled back by the shoulder. Turning to the source of this, he came face to face with Morpheus. His temper flared as he tried to break away, but Morpheus' grip stayed firm.

"Let me go, Morpheus. I have to save her."

"I can't allow to you do that, Ranma"

"But why?"

Morpheus' looks softened. "Because sooner or later, she has to realize that you won't always be there to rescue her. Believe me, it's better that she learns now instead of in the Matrix where she could really be hurt."

"What do you mean? If she hits the ground, she's going to be killed."

"Do you really believe we would let that happen in a training simulation?"

"Huh?"

"Just watch."

Morpheus released Ranma and they joined Akari and Ryoga in looking over the edge. Ranma gasped at the sight. Surprising Akane was picking herself up off the ground, albeit very slowly. As she began dusting herself off, she suddenly felt her legs go week and she fell back to the ground.

"What exactly just happened, Ryoga?" Ranma asked.

Ryoga looked at him and shrugged. "I'm just as surprised as you are. It looked like when she hit, the ground gave way then shot her back up a few feet before she fell back again."

"Wow, I guess she really is built like a brick."

"HEY, I HEARD THAT!" Akane called from the ground below.

"Eep." Ranma cringed.

"Is she okay?" Morpheus asked.

"Hold on. I'll ask her." Ranma leaned over the edge of the roof and yelled. "HEY, AKANE, YOU ALRIGHT?"

"I JUST FELL OFF A BUILDING, YOU JERK. OF COURSE I'M NOT ALRIGHT!"

Ranma turned back to Morpheus again and chuckled. "She seems perfectly normal to me."

Morpheus smiled. "In that case, it is time to move on to our final program."

* * *

Morpheus was soon leading Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga through a busy metropolitan street. The crowds of people reminded them of downtown Tokyo. Akari followed behind the three Nerimans as they were jostled by the mob moving against them. Morpheus began speaking as they waded through the sea of workers, students, and other pedestrians. 

"Look around. What do you see? Businessmen, secretaries, policemen, and soldiers. They are all plugged into the Matrix and as such they are a part of the system we fight against. As long as this is the case, they are our enemies and will not hesitate to attempt to capture or kill you."

"I don't understand. What would make them want to just kill us if we don't do anything to them?" Ryoga asked.

"Why don't you ask Akari?"

All three youths turned back to where Akari had been following them only to come face to face with three guns aimed at their head. Each one ducked and prepared to fall into a defensive stance when they heard a cry from behind them.

"FREEZE IT!" Akari yelled out.

Suddenly the whole world around them came to a halt. Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane straightened up and stared at the three figures in front of them. They were men, each one wearing a simple black suit and tie with dark sunglasses. They closely resembled the security detail that the American president always had around him, right down to the little plastic coils coming out of their ears. Their faces held an expression neutral enough to put Nabiki's "Ice Queen" mask to shame. The three men seemed to have no qualms whatsoever to being about to kill three people.

"What are they?" Ranma asked as he looked over the one in front of him.

"We call them Agents," Akari answered. "They're sentinel programs inside the Matrix itself. They can become anyone who is still plugged in to the system. This means they can be next to you in an instant ready to destroy you."

"Can they be killed?"

"It is possible to destroy the body that they take over," Morpheus replied, "but then they will just become someone else. It is also very difficult to kill them. They are extremely fast, enough so that you can empty an entire magazine at them and hit nothing but air. In all our history, only one person has successfully engaged and beaten an Agent."

"Neo," Akane stated with great certainty.

"Exactly, everyone else who has fought an agent has died."

Akane cringed at this. If these were their enemies, then surviving in the Matrix seemed to be a near impossible feat. Morpheus seemed to read her fears.

"It is possible to escape from them. Many have successfully done this, myself included. I also believe that you three may have the ability to defeat them in combat as well judging from your matches earlier."

Akane still wasn't sure, but Ranma and Ryoga seemed to lighten in their expressions. They still had some fears about the whole thing, but they also had confidence in their abilities as fighters. What scared Ranma most of all were Morpheus' words on the rooftop about him not always being there to rescue Akane.

"This was the final lesson. Now we must return to the ship and prepare for your trip to see the Oracle tomorrow."

* * *

Once they were all unplugged, Morpheus had Akari take Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga down to the messhall to get something to eat. When they left, he moved over to Link, leaving Trinity and Neo to begin the prep work for entering the Matrix. As he stood beside his operator, Link handed him the headset. 

"We're patched through to the Argos. Patch is standing by," he told Morpheus.

Morpheus nodded as he put the headset in place. "Good evening, Captain."

"Same to you, Morpheus. I guess you're finally going to tell us what this is all about."

"You are aware that I spoke to the Oracle a few days ago."

"Yeah, Link says she called you directly. I've never known that to happen before. She must have had something pretty important to do that."

"To say the least. She told me it was time for my newest recruits to meet her."

"Well, that is a little rushed, but I don't see what that has to do with me or my ship."

Morpheus grinned on his end of the connection. "Captain, how would you feel about another fishing trip?" Morpheus could almost see the shocked expression on Patch's face in his mind. As it was, the momentary silence that followed his question spoke volumes.

"Are you kidding me, Morpheus?" Patch asked when he finally regained his composure. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time? My medic is still recovering from the broken arm."

"I regret what happened before, but I'm afraid I don't have much of a choice. The oracle has made it quite clear that we need to be ready to do another multiple extraction."

"How many?"

"She didn't say. Only that it would be necessary to have a second ship standing by."

Silence prevailed as Patch thought over the situation. Like Morpheus, he had come to believe in the Oracle and the Prophesy. There weren't many who did. The Oracle knew this and the fact that she was asking this of a ship captained by a believer gave the situation the seriousness it deserved. It only took Patch a few minutes to agree. He did have a condition, however.

"All right, Morpheus, we're in," he said, "but in order to avoid a repeat of the last time I want one of your crewmembers here for when our potential comes to. That way there's a friendly face to calm him or her down."

"I'll do better than that; I'll send two. You'll get Akari and Ryoga."

"Ryoga?" Patch exclaimed. "Isn't he the one we picked up the last time?"

Yes, that's true," Morpheus replied. "He's been wanting to apologize to you for that, anyway."

"Fine, fine. I'm still not putting any of my crew in, though. Just your people. When the time comes, we'll coordinate so that we use the same insertion and exit points. No one gets split up that way."

"Agreed. We will meet at 0700 tomorrow morning to transfer the crew. I'll have worked out all the details by then."

"See you then."

* * *

The next morning came faster than anyone felt possible. After an early breakfast, Morpheus briefed everybody as to the events of the day. Shortly thereafter, they rendezvoused with the _Argos_ at which time Akari and Ryoga joined the other crew. Half an hour later, the ship was making its way to a broadcast point while all those going in prepared themselves in their own way. 

Morpheus was in the cockpit piloting the ship to their destination. Down in the control room, Link was setting up the monitors and control panel so that he would be able to monitor the others once they were inside. Behind him, Neo and Trinity were preparing the chairs and medical monitors with Akane watching closely and learning the procedures. Ranma, meanwhile, had taken a meditative posture against a far wall, focusing his mind on the task to come.

Morpheus finally brought the ship down and joined the others in the control room. Getting affirmative nods from Link, Trinity, and Neo, he approached Ranma, who opened his eyes just as Morpheus reached. Morpheus regarded him and spoke a single phrase. "It's time."

With that, everyone took their places in the chairs. Ranma and Akane turned to face each other and shared a confident smile as they began their first trip back into the Matrix.

In a split second, Ranma found himself with the others inside an empty room not unlike the one he had found himself in when he had been extracted. True to her word, Akane was inspecting her weapons for proper function and load. In another instant they were joined by Akari and Ryoga, who looked over to him and gave him a brief nod.

It was then that Ranma noticed the ringing telephone that sat on the desk in the middle of the room. He looked over to Morpheus and saw him nod in his direction as he was the closest one to the phone. Ranma walked over and placed the receiver against his ear. Somehow he knew it was the ship and, being Ranma, said the first thing that came to mind.

"We're in."

END CHAPTER 4

Whew. Ok I know this chapter was a long time in coming, but then I did warn you. After all, a couple nights of partying in Hong Kong was bound to take it's toll. It took a lot of effort to figure out exactly how I wanted to go with Akari and Ryoga. For those of you who were expecting a happy ever after, sorry not right now. I guess you will just have to wait and see what happens.

If you look back at all my previous chapters plus this one, think about this. I originally wanted what composes ch 1-4 to all be in one chapter. The more I wrote and the more I thought about it made me realize tquickly that it would have been a bad idea. It would have been too long in my opinion to really hold anyone's attention. I hope you all agree with me on that.

I have decided to treat this series like a TV show in a sense. This current work is essentially a pilot episode. Depending on reviews and feedback, there will be more episodes written. Each episode will be a separate adventure that our heroes embark on as they enter the world of the Matrix. Each episode will be made up of several chapters. Right now I am on track to give the "pilot" ten chapters or so. With each new episode old characters will be resolved and new friends will be made. Between the end of one episode and the beginning of the next, there will be a time break while I consider and work on other projects.

Speaking of other projects, in order to keep my brain from going into overdrive on this storyline, I am in the process of writing another Ranma crossover. This one will be with Love Hina. Now before you start with the flames I promise this will be a fic that mainly concentrates on Ranma and one other character from his world as the main parties. First three people who can guess who the other is in their reviews I will use as prereaders(Yes I'm that desparate for them). The story will take place in the Hinata apartments and will involve the characters from that series as well as the Ranma series. Like I said though, it will mostly focus on Ranma and our mystery hero(or heroine). I hope to have that up in a few days.

Because of the other project and the fact that I decided to make a few changes to the Ranma Unplugged storyline, CH 5 will be somewhat delayed. It will probably be anothertwo weeksor so before I even really get started writing it. In case you haven't guess, more friends are coming to join the cause. Since I need a new prereader for this story as well, the first person to guess the next extractions in their reviews will be invited to be a prereader for the remainder of this series. You have to get exactly the right people. That's might only hint. It will be more than one person.

Well until next time, I hope you enjoyed CH 4. See ya through the looking glass.


End file.
